Intellectual property asset manager (IPAM) for context processing of data objects

ABSTRACT

Context data processing is described herein. One or more contexts are selected. Each context includes one or more attributes, and a plurality of data objects that satisfy the attributes. A list of data objects contained in the selected contexts is displayed. At least some of the data objects in the selected contexts are processed. Such processing may involve generating claim trees, citation trees, and data object families, which may be displayed using hyperbolic trees. In an embodiment, the contexts are groups. In other embodiment, the contexts are each associated with a data object type. In this latter embodiment, the contexts include data objects of their respective data object types.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.11/178,367, filed Jul. 12, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,437,471, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/545,608, filed Apr. 7,2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,963,920, issued Nov. 8, 2005, which is anon-provisional of Provisional Application No. 60/128,405, filed Apr. 8,1999, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

U.S. application Ser. No. 09/545,608, filed Apr. 7, 2000 is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/921,369, filed Aug.29, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,767, issued Jan. 15, 2002, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/867,392, filed Jun.2, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,751, issued Nov. 23, 1999, each ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

U.S. application Ser. No. 09/545,608, filed Apr. 7, 2000, is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/138,368, filed Aug.21, 1998, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.application Ser. No. 08/921,369, filed Aug. 29, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No.6,339,767, issued Jan. 15, 2002, each of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

U.S. application Ser. No 09/545,608, filed Apr. 7, 2000, is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/260,079, filed Mar.2, 1999, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.application Ser. No. 09/138,368, filed Aug. 21, 1998, now abandoned,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/921,369,filed Aug. 29, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,767, issued Jan. 15, 2002,each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

U.S. application Ser. No. 09/545,608, filed Apr. 7, 2000, is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/057,557, filed Apr.9, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,389,434, issued May 14, 2002, which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The present application is related to the following applications andpatents, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety: U.S. application Ser. No. 08/832,971, filed Apr. 4, 1997, nowU.S. Pat. No. 5,809,318, issued Sept. 15, 1998; U.S. application Ser.No. 09/058,275, filed Apr. 10, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,214, issuedSept. 7, 1999; U.S. application Ser. No. 08/590,082, filed Jan. 23,1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,754,840, issued May 19, 1998; U.S. applicationSer. No. 08/662,377, filed Jun. 12, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,325,issued Aug. 25, 1998, U.S. application Ser. No. 08/632,801, filed Apr.17, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,079, issued Sept. 8, 1998; U.S.application Ser. No. 08/423,676, filed Apr. 18, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No.5,623,679, issued Apr. 22, 1997; and U.S. application Ser. No.08/155,752, filed Nov. 19, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,681, issuedApr. 22, 1997.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is generally related to data processing, and moreparticularly related to, inter alia, processing data objects in avariety of contexts.

2. Related Art

Patents are becoming more and more important to a business's success,especially in today's global economy. Patents can be viewed as a newtype of currency in this global economy because they grant the holderwith a right to exclude others from making, using, or selling thepatented technology. In some industries, product turnover is fairlyrapid. However, core technology, product features, and markets change ata much slower rate. Accordingly, even in fast-moving industries, patentswhich cover core technology are very valuable at protecting a company'sresearch and development investment for an extended period of time.

Patents are also valuable as revenue generators. In 1993, for example,the revenue generated from patents by U.S. companies was over $60billion. Fred Warshofsky, The Patent Wars, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., NewYork, 1994. These patent revenue dollars are rising each year.

Patents are further valuable because they collectively represent a vasttechnological database. According to Larry Kahaner's book, CompetitiveIntelligence, Simon & Schuster, 1996, “More than 75 percent of theinformation contained in U.S. patents is never released anywhere else.”

More and more corporations are recognizing the value of patents. Thenumber of patents applied for and issued to U.S. companies is increasingevery year, especially in fast moving industries such as computersoftware, telecommunications, and biotechnology. Many internationalcompanies have also recognized the value of patents. In fact, foreigncompanies regularly rank among the leaders in issued U.S. patents.

Yet, for all the heightened awareness being paid to patents in somequarters, patents remain one of the most underutilized assets in acompany's portfolio. This is due, at least in significant part, to thefact that patent analysis, whether for purposes of licensing,infringements enforcement, freedom to operate, technical research,product development, etc., is a very difficult, tedious, time consuming,and expensive task, particularly when performed with paper copies ofpatents. Often times, it is a difficult or even impossible task tosimply identify relevant patents. Accordingly, detailed patent relatedanalysis is usually not done, or it is done in an ad hoc, unorganized,incomplete, inefficient, and/or ineffective manner.

It would be very beneficial to have automated tools that aid users inprocessing and analyzing patent-related information and non-patentrelated information for making corporate business decisions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated, an embodiment of the invention is directed to systems,methods, computer program products, and combinations thereof, of contextdata processing. The embodiment operates by selecting one or morecontexts. Each context includes one or more attributes, and a pluralityof data objects that satisfy the attributes. A list of data objectscontained in the selected contexts is displayed. At least some of thedata objects in the selected contexts are processed. Such processing mayinvolve generating hierarchical and or directed acyclic graph datastructures to represent relationships among the data objects. These datastructures can then be displayed in a variety of well-known techniquesincluding but not limited to hyperbolic trees. Examples of suchhierarchical or directed acyclic graph structures include claim trees,citation trees, and data object families, which may be displayed usinghyperbolic trees.

In an embodiment, the contexts are groups. In other embodiment, thecontexts are each associated with a data object type. In this latterembodiment, the contexts include data objects of their respective dataobject types. The invention is not limited to these embodiments.

The invention supports the generation of annotations. The inventionsupports a plurality of annotation types, including documentannotations, group annotations, data object type annotations, caseannotations, and enterprise annotations. The invention also supportsform-based annotations.

In an embodiment, the invention is directed to a system having anintellectual property asset manager (IPAM) and a plug-in manager coupledto the IPAM. The system also includes at least one plug-in coupled tothe plug-in manager, and at least one external data processing componentcoupled to the plug-in. In an embodiment, the external data processingcomponent displays data using at least graphs. In another embodiment,the external data processing component displays data using at leastmaps. The plug-in manager has a first application programming interface(API), and the external data processing component each has a second API.The plug-in translates messages from the plug-in manager to the externaldata processing component to a format conforming to the second API, andtranslates messages from the external data processing component to theplug-in manager to a format conforming to the first API.

The invention is also directed to assignee name processing. Suchprocessing operates by selecting a normalized assignee name for anentity, identifying name representations of the entity in a data set,and linking the name representations to the normalized assignee name.

Further features and advantages of the invention, as well as variousembodiments of the invention, are described in detail below withreference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The present invention will be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example group browser;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of image skimming according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 depicts an event trace corresponding to a preview data objectfunction according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a patent being a member of a plurality of groups;

FIG. 5 illustrates a data object, such as a document, being a member ofa plurality of contexts;

FIG. 6 illustrates a corporate document window according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates filtering in a corporate document window according todocument kind;

FIG. 8 illustrates filtering in a corporate document window according tosecurity class;

FIG. 9 illustrates a new corporate document kind dialog according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a new security class dialog according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates a new corporate document dialog according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 13-15 illustrate the addition of a corporate document to the IPAMsystem according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 illustrates a context browser according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 17 illustrates a type table according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 18 illustrates a type document xref table according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 19 illustrates an example type table;

FIG. 20 illustrates an example type document xref table;

FIGS. 21 and 22 are used to describe a data object preview functionaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 23 is a table illustrating the differences between differentannotation types;

FIGS. 24-30 illustrate various types of document annotations accordingto embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 31 illustrates an annotation pane according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 32 illustrates a flowchart representing the operation of theinvention when creating an annotation that is linked to a data object;

FIG. 33 illustrates a flowchart representing the operation of theinvention when creating a group or type annotation;

FIGS. 34-36 illustrate search GUIs according to embodiments of theinvention;

FIG. 37 illustrates an example claim tree;

FIG. 38 illustrates a flowchart reflecting the operation of theinvention when generating and utilizing a claim tree;

FIGS. 39-41 are used to describe a display claim branch function of thepresent invention;

FIG. 42A depicts a menu applicable to claim trees;

FIG. 42B illustrates node state information that is stored in nodes ofhyperbolic trees according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 43 illustrates an example patent citation tree;

FIG. 44 depicts a patent ref table according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 45 illustrates a non-patent ref table according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 46 illustrates an example patent ref table;

FIG. 47 illustrates an example non-patent ref table;

FIG. 48 illustrates a data object family table according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 49 illustrates an example data object family table;

FIGS. 50A and 50B depict a table related to relationship types supportedby embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 51 illustrates an example patent family chronology;

FIG. 52 illustrates an example data object family table corresponding tothe patent family chronology of FIG. 51;

FIG. 53 illustrates an example assignee technology patent family;

FIG. 54 illustrates an example data object family table corresponding tothe assignee technology patent family of FIG. 53;

FIG. 55 illustrates a flowchart representing the operation ofembodiments of the invention when generating relationship tables;

FIG. 56 is used to describe example sources of relationship datautilized by embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 57A is a flowchart representing the operation of the invention whenanalyzing relationship information;

FIG. 57B is a flowchart representing the operation of the invention whencomputing closure of a data object family;

FIG. 58 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the enterprise serverwhen interacting with third party components and tools;

FIG. 59 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the enterpriseserver when interacting with third party components/tools;

FIG. 60 is a more detailed block diagram of the enterprise serverinteracting with third party components/tools;

FIG. 61 is an event trace representing the operation of the enterpriseserver when interacting with third party components;

FIGS. 62A and 62B are a flowchart corresponding to the event tracediagram of FIG. 61;

FIG. 63 is an example data flow diagram relating to the operation of theenterprise server when interacting with a third party component thatrepresents data using landscapes or maps;

FIG. 64 is a flowchart representing an example operation of a thirdparty component interacting with the enterprise server;

FIGS. 65 and 66 represent example displays of data represented as mapsor landscapes;

FIG. 67 is an example display of data represented using a graph withdynamically adjustable axis;

FIG. 68 is an event trace of the enterprise server operating with aspecific third party component/tool;

FIGS. 69-73 depict various configurations and distributions ofcomponents and functionality supported by the present invention;

FIG. 74 is a flowchart representing the operation of embodiments of theinvention when performing assignee name processing;

FIG. 75 illustrates another context browser according to embodiments ofthe invention;

FIG. 76 is a block diagram of the enterprise server according toembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 77 is a flowchart representing the operation of the invention whenperforming context processing according to embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 78A and 78B illustrate free text annotations according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 79 illustrates an example form-based annotation;

FIG. 80 illustrates another example formed based annotation;

FIG. 81 is a data flow diagram used to describe form-based annotationsaccording to embodiments of the invention;

FIGS. 82, 83A, and 83B are flow charts representing the operation ofform-based annotations according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 84 is a flow chart representing the operation of the invention wheninputting an arbitrary data object;

FIG. 85 is a data flow diagram supporting the flow chart of FIG. 84;

FIG. 86 is a block diagram of an example computer system useful forimplementing modules of the invention;

FIG. 87 illustrates an example patent claim tree module;

FIG. 88 illustrates an example landscape or map tool operable withembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 89 illustrates an example search tool operable with embodiments ofthe invention;

FIG. 90 illustrates an example export operation; and

FIGS. 91-98 are used to illustrate an example plug-in operation of theinvention with a third party tool.

In the following text, reference is sometimes made to existing patents.Also, some of the figures reference or illustrate existing patents. Forillustrative purposes, information from and/or about these patents hassometimes been modified or created in order to support the particularexamples being discussed. Accordingly, the information provided hereinabout these existing patents should be considered to be fictional unlessverified through comparison with copies of the actual patents that areavailable from national patent offices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Table of Contents

-   Overview of the Invention-   Image Skimming-   Context Processing    -   Group-Centric Processing    -   Non-Group-Centric Processing        -   Data Object Type Processing            -   Corporate Document Browser            -   Data Object Kinds            -   Security Classes            -   Corporate Documents            -   Data Object Type Databases    -   Context Browser    -   Operation of Context Processing-   Data Object Preview-   Annotation    -   Document Annotations        -   Patent Annotations        -   Corporate Document Annotations        -   Image Annotations    -   Group Annotations    -   Data Object Type Annotations    -   Case Annotations    -   Enterprise Annotations    -   User Interface and Note Processing-   Form-based Annotations    -   Medical Example    -   Legal Example    -   Product Development Example    -   Additional Product Development Example    -   Medical Teaching Example-   Searching-   Data Presenting and Processing Using Visualization Technologies,    Such as-   Hyperbolic Trees    -   Patent Claim Trees    -   Patent Citation Trees (patent and non-patent citations)        -   Example Databases    -   Data Object Family Trees        -   Examples of Data Object Families            -   Patent Related Families                -   Assignee Patent Family Chronology (APFC)                -   Assignee Technology Patent Family (ATPF)                -   Technology Patent Family (TPF)            -   Claim Trees                -   Patent Claim Tree (PCT) and Application Claim Tree                    (ACT)                -   Assignee Patent Family Chronology Claim Tree                    (APFCCT)                -   Assignee Technology Patent Family Claim Tree                    (ATPFCT)                -   Technology Patent Family Claim Tree (TPFCT)            -   Patent-Trademark Relationship Trees        -   Example Databases        -   Operational Description-   Plug-In Architecture    -   Plug-In Architecture    -   Plug-In Operation        -   Loose Integration        -   Tight Integration    -   Query Creation and Retention    -   Enterprise Server API    -   Plug-In Manager API    -   Example Third Party Components        -   Graph-Based Visualization Tools        -   Landscape-Based Visualization Tools        -   Data Object Searching Tools        -   Other-   Hybrid Models-   Assignee Processing-   Input of Arbitrary and Potentially Diverse Data Objects-   Tool Box Embodiments-   Example Implementation-   Conclusion    Overview of the Invention

The present invention is directed to systems, methods, computer programproducts, and components and combinations thereof, for processing dataobjects. Such processing includes, but is not limited to, acquiring dataobjects, organizing data objects, storing data objects, visualizing dataobjects, displaying data objects, manipulating data objects, annotatingdata objects, processing data contained in data objects, etc. Theinvention is also directed to combinations of the modules and functionsdescribed herein, and also described in U.S. patent applications“System, Method, and Computer Program Product for Patent-Centric andGroup-Oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No. 08/867,392, “Using HyperbolicTrees to Visualize Data Generated by Patent-Centric and Group-OrientedData Processing,” Ser. No. 08/921,369, “System, Method and ComputerProgram Product for Managing and Analyzing Intellectual Property (IP)Related Transactions,” Ser. No. 09/138,368, herein incorporated byreference in their entireties.

In embodiments of the invention, the data objects include, but are notlimited to, patents and patent-related data objects. More generally, thedata objects include, but are not limited to, intellectual propertyrelated data objects. The data objects also include, but are not limitedto, data objects of past, present, or potentially future interest tocorporate entities. For illustrative purposes, the invention issometimes described in terms of these embodiments. However, theinvention is not limited to these embodiments. The invention isapplicable to data objects of any type and subject matter. Accordingly,description of the invention in terms of these embodiments is providedfor illustrative purposes only, and is not limiting.

The invention may be used with immutable data objects (i.e., dataobjects that cannot be modified), such as but not limited to dataobjects produced by government agencies and similar institutions. Forexample, an issued patent is generally considered an immutable dataobject since it is preferred that it not be modified. An executedcontract is another example of a document that can be immutable.However, the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Theinvention can operate with mutable data objects, and/or data objectsproduced by private entities.

In embodiments of the invention, the data objects include documents,such as textual documents, image documents, and combinations thereof.For illustrative purposes, the invention is sometimes described in termsof these embodiments. However, the invention is not limited to theseembodiments. The invention is applicable to data objects of any type andform, including but not limited to video, audio, sensory, multimedia,tactile, computer programs, links, etc., and combinations thereof.Accordingly, description of the invention in terms of these embodimentsis provided for illustrative purposes only, and is not limiting.

In some embodiments, the present invention is intended to aid acorporate entity with planning over its entire enterprise. Accordingly,the present invention is sometimes referred to as an enterprise systemand method (or an enterprise server). In some embodiments, the presentinvention is intended to aid a corporate entity in developingbusiness-related strategies, plans, and actions. Accordingly, thepresent invention is sometimes referred to as a business decision system(BDS). In some embodiments, the present invention is intended to aid acorporate entity with managing intellectual property assets.Accordingly, the present invention is sometimes referred to as anintellectual property asset manager (IPAM). In any of these embodiments,the invention can run in a single user or a multi-user mode ofoperation.

Image Skimming

The invention supports an image skimming function. In accordance withthe image skimming function, preferably, the first image page of eachdocument in a collection of documents is displayed in successionpursuant to appropriate. user command.

The invention is not limited to this embodiment. In particular, theskimming feature of the invention is not limited to document images. Theskimming feature enables one to view or otherwise obtain informationabout a data object in a form that is consistent with that data object.For example, and without limitation, if a group contained a set of videoclips, the skimming pane might allow for a video clip to bedisplayed/played directly from that window.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example user interface 102 according toembodiments of the invention. The user interface 102 is called a consoleor a browser.

A group hierarchy is shown in a group pane 104 of the browser 102. Agroup is a data structure that includes a collection of data objects,such as documents. The data objects in a group typically follow a commontheme or characteristic. For example, a first group may include patentsand other documents that map to a product being manufactured and sold bya company. A second group may include patents and other documents thatmap to a product being considered for future manufacture and sale by acompany. A third group may include patents and other documents relatedto a research product. A group may contain other groups, or may beincluded in one or more groups. Accordingly, in embodiments of theinvention, groups are hierarchically organized. Groups are furtherdescribed in U.S. Patent Application “System, Method, and ComputerProgram Product for Patent-Centric and Group-Oriented Data Processing,”Ser. No. 08/867,392, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

As noted above, a group hierarchy is shown in a group pane 104 of thebrowser 102. In the example of FIG. 1, a group “771 docs” is selected,as indicated as 105. A list of data objects contained in the selectedgroup 105 is displayed in a contents pane 106. In the example of FIG. 1,a document “EP 0815816A1” is selected, as indicated as 107. Informationpertaining to the selected data object 107 is displayed in a data objectpane 110. Such information, for example, can include a summary and/orbibliographic information of the selected data object 107 (see thesummary tab 114 in the data object pane 110), the text of the selecteddata object 107, and/or image data relating to the selected data object107 (see the image tab 112 in the data object pane 110). Otherinformation pertaining to the selected data object 107 is alsoaccessible via the data object pane 110, as further described below.

The contents pane 106 includes navigational buttons 116, 118 whichpreferably operate relative to the selected data object 107 in thecontents pane 106. When selected, button 116 (represented as a downarrow) preferably causes information corresponding to at least the firstimage page of the next data object in the list of data objects in thecontents pane 106 to be retrieved and displayed in the image tab 112 ofthe data object pane 110. The button 118 (preferably represented as anup arrow), when selected, preferably causes data pertaining to at leastthe first image page of the prior data object in the list of dataobjects in the contents pane 106 to be retrieved and displayed in theimage tab 112 of the data object pane 110.

According to the image skimming function of the present invention, thefirst image page of successive documents listed in the contents pane 106is displayed by repeatedly clicking the navigation buttons 116 and 118.Specifically, to move down the list of data objects displayed in thecontents pane 106, the down arrow button 116 is pressed by the user. Tomove up the list of data objects listed in the contents pane 106, the uparrow 118 is repeatedly pressed by the user.

In an embodiment of the invention, the data objects listed in thecontents pane 106 represent patents or documents related to patents(including, but not limited to, post-issuance documents). In thisembodiment, the image skimming feature of the present invention isanalogous to a manual search of patents in the shoes of the patentsearch room, and the collection of documents being searched is analogousto one or more electronic patent shoes. The collection may be one ormore groups, for example. During such manual searches, sometimes called“patent shoe searching,” practitioners often quickly thumb through thepatents in a patent shoe by looking at the first pages of the patents.The image skimming feature of the present invention enables an operatorto quickly electronically scan over the first image pages of the patentslisted in the contents pane 106, thereby emulating a manual searchthrough the shoes in the patent office search room.

The present invention, however, represents a significant improvementover a manual patent shoe search. These advantages generally pertain toperspective and scope. Specifically, the present invention provides botha global view of the subject matter being searched, and a detailed viewof the subject matter being searched. The global view is represented bythe list of patents and related patent data objects listed in thecontents pane 106. In particular, the contents pane 106 provides theuser with an overview of the data objects that is the subject of theanalysis.

The detailed view is represented by the data object pane 110, whichprovides the user with detailed information regarding the currentlyselected patent from the contents pane 106.

The global view (i.e., the contents pane 106) and the detailed view(i.e., the data object pane 110) are simultaneously displayed for reviewby the user. Thus, the user can simultaneously electronically view thelist of the patents being searched, and the first page of the currentlyselected patent. Also, the user can immediately modify the focus of thesearch by selecting any patent listed in the contents pane 106. Such“random access” is not possible with manual patent shoe searching.

Also, the group pane 104 provides an even higher level view of thesubject matter being searched.

Further, while conducting the search, the user can easily andeffectively create electronic annotations to capture his or heranalysis. The annotation features of the present invention are furtherdescribed below.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart 202 representing the operation of thepresent invention when performing the image skimming function.

In step 206, the user selects a collection of data objects. Thecollection of data objects can be selected using any of the features andfunctions of the present invention described herein. For example, theuser can conduct a search wherein the data objects identified by thesearch represents the collection of step 206. Alternatively, the usercan select one or more groups, wherein the data objects contained in theselected groups correspond to the collection of step 206. Stillalternatively, the user can select one or more document types, whereinall data objects of the selected document types correspond to thecollection of data objects of step 206. A document collection/group canbe selected through any combination of searches, attributes, documenttypes, etc., all working together (e.g., “Create a group that consistsonly of license agreements (document type) containing the text “digitalvideo” (keyword search) whose expiration date is between Jan. 1, 1999and Dec. 31, 1999 (document attribute)).

In step 208, the data objects in the selected collection are displayedin the contents pane 106.

In step 210, one of the data objects listed in the contents pane 106 isselected. Such selection may be manually performed by the user.Alternatively, by default, one of the documents may be preselected, suchas the first document in the list, or the last document in the list.This default operation may be user controllable/adjustable.

In step 212, information pertaining to the selected data object isretrieved. Referring to FIG. 76, an attempt to retrieve such informationis first made to local databases 7612. If image information of theselected document is not contained in the local databases 7612, then thenetwork client 7608 interacts with the enterprise server 7604 toretrieve the image data from the remote databases 7614. Additionaldetails pertaining to the enterprise server 7604 and the network client7608, as well as other component shown in FIG. 76, is contained in U.S.Patent Application “System, Method, and Computer Program Product forPatent-centric and Group-oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No. 08/867,392,incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In step 214, information pertaining to the selected document isdisplayed in the data object pane 110. Preferably, informationcorresponding to at least the first image page of the selected documentis displayed in the image tab 112 of the data object pane 110.

In step 216, the user enters a navigational command. Specifically, theuser either presses the down arrow button 116 or the up arrow button118.

If the user pressed the up arrow button 118, then information pertainingto at least the first image page of the prior document listed in thecontents pane 106 is retrieved and displayed, as indicated by steps 218,220, and 222. If, instead, the user selected the down arrow button 116,then information pertaining to at least the first image page of the nextdata object listed in the contents pane 106 is retrieved and displayed.This is represented by steps 224, 226, and 228. If neither the up arrowbutton 118 nor the down arrow button 116 was pressed by the user, thenthe system processes the command that was issued as appropriate, asrepresented by step 230.

Image skimming is further described in U.S. Patent Application “System,Method, and Computer Program Product for Patent-centric andGroup-oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No. 08/867,392, incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

Context Processing

The present invention supports context processing. A context is a datastructure comprising one or more attributes. The context also comprisesdata objects that satisfy, follow, relate to, and/or have the context'sattributes. Contexts are further described below.

Group-Centric Processing

The invention supports a variety of contexts. For example, a group is acontext.

As noted above, a group is a data structure that includes a collectionof data objects, such as documents. The documents in a group typically(but not exclusively) follow a common theme or characteristic. Groupsare typically (but not exclusively based on subject matter. The dataobjects in a group relate to (or map to) the subject matter associatedwith the group. For example, a first group may include patents and otherdocuments that map to a product being manufactured and sold by acompany. A second group may include patents and other documents that mapto a product being considered for future manufacture and sale by acompany. A third group may include patents -and other documents relatedto a research product.

Accordingly, groups are a context for organization, visualization,analysis, and other processing.

Groups are further described in U.S. Patent Application “System, Method,and Computer Program Product for Patent-centric and Group-oriented DataProcessing,” Ser. No. 08/867,392, incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

Non-Group-Centric Processing

The invention supports contexts other than groups. Context processingperformed by the present invention that does not involve groups isherein referred to as non-group-centric processing.

The invention supports a variety of non-group-centric contexts. Forexample, a context can be created as a result of processing performed bythe system. A context can be created from documents identified by aforward citation tree operation. Similarly, a context can be createdfrom a backward citation tree operation. Another context can be createdby searching all groups and/or data object types in the systemcontaining a given document, or having some attribute. In that instance,the context would include all hits from that search.

A particular context supported by the invention is a data object typecontext. This context is described below.

Data Object Type Processing

According to the invention, each data object has one or more data objectkinds. A data object kind represents a classification of a data object.For example, data object kinds include license agreements,non-disclosure agreements, patents, tax forms, personnel evaluations,software programs, user manuals, technical manuals, copyrightregistration forms, audio clips, movies, multimedia clips, data objectlinks, annotations, and any other data object or document classificationof interest to the user.

Data object kinds represent contexts for organization, visualization,analysis, and other processing. For example, it may be useful to analyzeall license agreements in which a corporate entity is a party. In thisexample, the user selects the data object kind “license agreements. ”All license agreements associated with the corporate entity are selectedand may be analyzed by the user. All other information perhapspertaining to the corporate entity, but not representing licenseagreements, are excluded from analysis. Thus, the present inventionfacilitates the organization, visualization, analysis, and otherprocessing of information of interest to the user.

It is illustrative to note the differences between a group and a dataobject kind. A group is defined by its attributes, and the documents andother data objects in the group share or follow such attributes. Incontrast, a data object kind represents a classification of a dataobject. The data objects associated with the data object kind may havenothing in common with each other except that they are the same kind ofdata object.

A given data object, such as a patent, may exist in a plurality ofgroups. This is illustrated in FIG. 4, where a given patent is containedin a bill of materials group, a user find group, an inventor group, acorporate entity group, etc. Similarly, a data object may exist in aplurality of contexts. This is illustrated in FIG. 5, for example, wherea given data object is included in a group context, an author context, apublisher context, and a topic context.

Corporate Document Browser

FIG. 6 illustrates an example corporate document window or browser 602.Corporate documents are listed in the corporate document window 602.Preferably, corporate documents are defined as non-patent documents. Inalternative embodiments, however, corporate documents may include bothpatents and non-patent documents.

Each corporate document includes a document ID, a title, a data objectkind, and a security class. This information is listed in columns 604,606, 608, and 610, respectively, of the corporate document window 602.

The invention preferably includes various filters to enable users tolimit the documents that are listed in the corporate document window602. The example corporate document window 602 shown in FIG. 6 includesa security class filter 614 and a data object kinds filter 616. As shownin FIG. 7, the user can select one or more data object kinds forviewing. If, for example, the user selects “contract” in the data objectkind filter 616, then only documents having the data object kind of“contract” are listed in the corporate document window 602.

The security class filter 614 allows the user to select one or moresecurity classes. Only documents of the selected security classes arelisted in the corporate document window 602. As shown in FIG. 8, forexample, if the user selected in the security class filter 614 the class“class 5,” then only documents of security class “class 5” are listed inthe corporate document window 602.

Preferably, access to documents are restricted/managed/maintained bysecurity information. A user can only access/browse those documents thatare consistent with his security information.

The browsers of the invention support inverse functions. An inversefunction is one that performs an operation that is the inverse ofanother operation. For example, browsing a group displays all of thedocuments in the group. The inverse is browsing all of the groups thatcontain the document. Many of the browser functions described hereininclude inverse functions. The inverse functions available for any givenbrowser varies and is implementation dependent.

Data Object Kinds

As noted above, a data object kind is a classification of a document.For example, all license agreements preferably have a data object kindof “license agreement.” All non-disclosure agreements preferably have adata object kind of “non-disclosure agreement.” All patents preferablyhave a data object kind of “patent.” The level of granularity of thedata object kinds is implementation and application dependent. Forexample, there may be data object kinds for “U.S. patent,” “Japanesepatent,” “Canadian patents,” etc.

A data object may have more than one data object kind. For example, alicense agreement may have the data object kind of “license agreement”and “contract.”

Typically, the data object kind supported by a system varies over time.Also, typically, different systems will have different data objectkinds. Generally, the data object kinds defined and supported by asystem correspond to the needs of the users of the system. For example,the data object kinds associated with a patent department may includepatent, patent application, license agreement, non-disclosure agreement,and patentability opinion. The data object kinds associated with anaccounting department may include payroll statement, invoice, accountreceivable, license agreement, and budget.

Generally, data object kinds can be created for any criteria orattribute of past, present, or future interest. Data object kinds can bearbitrarily created.

FIG. 9 illustrates a new corporate data object kind window 902, which isdisplayed when the user elects to create a new data object kind.Preferably, the user enters a name of the data object kind, adescription of the data object kind, and an owner of the data objectkind. A new data object kind having such name, description, and ownerinformation is created upon pressing the OK button 904.

Security Classes

Preferably, each data object has a security class. Many data objects canhave the same security class.

A security class specifies the rights that users have. In other words, asecurity class specifies user access rights. When a security class isassigned to a document, then access to that document is controlled bythe user access rights specified in the security class. Access to thedocument can be modified by either changing the access rights associatedwith the security class, or assigning a new security class to thedocument. For example, suppose that a security class A gives read andwrite privileges to a user 1. If document X is assigned security classA, then user 1 has read and write privileges to document X.

FIG. 10 illustrates a new security class window 1002, which is displayedwhen the user wishes to create a new security class. Preferably, asindicated by the security class tab 1004 in the new security classwindow 1002, a security class has a name, description, and owner.Referring to FIG. 11, as indicated by the permissions tab 1006, asecurity class specifies the access privileges of users. A new securityclass is created when the name, description, owner, and user accessinformation is entered and the OK button 1008 is pressed.

Corporate Documents

In an embodiment of the invention, a corporate document is a data objectin the system. It is noted that the following description is applicableto any type of data object (document or otherwise).

FIG. 12 illustrates a new corporate document window 1202 which is usedto create anew corporate document. The new corporate document window1202 includes a file path field. The path to electronic informationrepresentative of the document or other data object that is being addedto the system as a corporate document is specified in the file path-field. This path can be specified via well known browsing techniques,which is initiated by pressing the browse button 1206. This is just onemechanism that serves to identify the location of a document. Theinvention is not limited to this embodiment. Other mechanisms could beused, such as but not limited to the use of a URL (Universal ResourceLocator).

The new corporate document window 1202 also includes a document ID fieldin which the document ID of the new corporate document is displayed.Preferably, the document ID is unique among all corporate documents anddata objects, and is manually inputted. Alternatively, it isautomatically generated by the system.

The new corporate document window 1202 also includes a title field, inwhich the user can enter a title of the new corporate document. A dataobject kind and a security class for the new corporate document can beentered in fields 1212 and 1214. If the user wishes to create a new dataobject kind, the user can press the new button 1216, in which case thenew corporate data object kind window 902 (FIG. 9) is displayed. If theuser wishes to create a new security class, the user presses the newbutton 1218, in which case the new security class window 1002 (FIGS. 10and 11) is displayed. The user can also enter additional bibliographicinformation pertaining to the corporate document, such as author,source, disclosure date, and publication date. These fields areavailable in the additional bibliographic fields tab 1222 (See FIG. 14).

FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate an example where a new corporate documenttitled “License Agreement Between ABC and EFG” is being created. FIG. 15illustrates the corporate document window 1302, which displays corporatedocuments in the system. Note that the new corporate document titled“License Agreement Between ABC and EFG” is listed at 1502.

Data Object Type Databases

Example database tables usefull for implementing data object kinds asdescribed above are considered in this section.

FIG. 17 illustrates a type table 1702. The type table 1702 storesinformation for data object types supported by the system. The typetable 1702 includes a record for each data object type defined andsupported in the system. Each record of the type table 1702 includes atype_ID attribute corresponding to the unique identifier of the dataobject type, a name attribute containing the name of the data objecttype, a description attribute containing a description of the dataobject type, and an owner attribute specifying an owner of the dataobject type.

FIG. 18 illustrates a type document xref table 1802. The type documentxref table 1802 stores information that identifies the data objects ineach data object type supported by the system. The type document xreftable 1802 includes a record for each data object in each data objecttype supported by the system. Each record of the type document xreftable 1802 includes a type_ID attribute that identifies a data objecttype, and a document_ID attribute that identifies a data object that isin the data object type.

An example of the type table 1702 and the type document xref table 1802is illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 20. FIG. 19 illustrates an example typetable 1902. The type table 1902 includes a data object type called“automation” that has a type_ID of T1. The type table 1902 also includesinformation pertaining to a data object type called “license agreement”that has a type_ID of T2. FIG. 20 illustrates an example type documentxref table 2002. This example type document cross ref table 2002indicates that contract 1 and contract 3 are of data object type“automation,” and contract 1 and contract 2 are of data object type“license agreement.”

Context Browser

FIG. 16 illustrates an example context browser 1602, which is similar tothe group browser 102 shown in FIG. 1. The context browser 1602 includesa kind pane 1604 in which the data object kinds supported by the systemare listed. In some embodiments, the data object kinds arehierarchically organized. For example, a license agreement kind and anon-disclosure agreement kind may be children of a contracts kind. AU.S. patents kind and an Australian patents kind may be children of apatents kind. The hierarchical organization of data object kinds isindicated in the kind pane 1604.

A content pane 1606 list the data objects contained in a data objectkind selected in the kind pane 1604. Annotations are listed in anannotations pane 1608 (annotations are further described below).Information pertaining to a data object selected in the contents pane1606 is displayed in a data object pane 1610. Such information includesany information pertaining to the selected data object, such as summaryor bibliographic information in the summary tab 1612, text informationpertaining to the selected document in the text tab 1614, imageinformation pertaining to the selected data object in the image tab1616, audio information associated with the selected document in theaudio tab 1618, and video information associated with the selecteddocument in the video tab 1620. Other information pertaining to theselected data object, if any, is also accessible via the data objectpane 1610 via additional tabs (not shown in FIG. 16).

FIG. 75 illustrates another example context browser 7502. The contextbrowser 7502 includes a kind pane 7504, a contents pane 7506, and a dataobject pane 7508. These panes are similar to those shown in FIG. 16.

Operation of Context Processing

Context processing according to embodiments of the invention isillustrated in a flowchart 7702 in FIG. 77. In step 7704, one or morecontexts are selected. For example, one or more groups and/or one ormore data object types are selected. Each of the selected contextsinclude any number of data objects.

In step 7706, the data objects in the selected contexts are processed.Such processing includes any combination of the functions describedherein, and/or the functions described in U.S. Patent Applicationstitled “System, Method,. and Computer Program Product for Patent-centricand Group-oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No. 08/867,392, “UsingHyperbolic Trees to Visualize Data Generated by Patent-centric andGroup-oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No. 08/921,369, and/or “System,Method, and Computer Program Product for Managing and AnalyzingIntellectual Property (IP) Related Transactions,” Ser. No. 09/138,368,all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.Such processing may be automatic, manual, or combinations thereof.

Data Object Preview

FIG. 76 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of the presentinvention. An enterprise server 7604, which is also referred to as anintellectual property asset manager (IPAM) and a business decisionsystem (BDS), performs processing on data objects as described herein.Information on such data objects is stored in IPAM databases 7614. Suchinformation includes bibliographic information, textual information,image information, video information, audio information, and otherinformation associated with the data objects.

Preferably, users interact with the enterprise server 7604 and the IPAMdatabases 7614 via network clients 7608 and web clients 7606. Networkclients 7608 interact directly with the enterprise server 7604 (althoughthere may be networks between the network clients 7608 and theenterprise server 7604). Web clients 7606 interact with the enterpriseserver 7604 via web server 7610.

Preferably, network clients 7608 include local databases 7612. Webclients 7606 may also include local databases. The local databases 7612store information on data objects. Preferably, the information containedin the local database 7612 is a subset of the information contained inIPAM databases 7614. For example, the local database 7612 may onlyinclude information on a limited number of data objects. Also, for anygiven data object, the local database 7612 may only store someinformation pertaining to the data object. For example, the database7612 may only store bibliographic or summary information pertaining tothe data object. The database 7612 may not store more detailedinformation pertaining to the data object, such as textual information,image information, video information, audio information, etc.

Further information pertaining to the enterprise server 7604, thenetwork client 7608, the web client 7606, the web server 7610, anddatabases 7614 and 7612 are found in U.S. Patent Application “System,Method, and Computer Program Product for Patent-centric andGroup-oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No. 08/867,392, incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 21 illustrates a browser 2102 (also called a console), which may bea group browser or a context browser. As described above, the contentspane 2108 lists documents that are contained in the group or kindselected in the group/kind pane 2106.

The data object pane 2104 illustrates information pertaining to thedocument selected in the contents pane 2108. Preferably, the data objectpane 2104 displays summary or bibliographic information pertaining tothe document selected in the contents pane 2108. This is the case in theexample FIG. 21.

The user can elect to display other information pertaining to theselected document by selecting another tab in the data object pane 2104,such as the image tab 2110 shown in FIG. 21. However, such additionalinformation pertaining to the selected document may not be present inthe local database 7612. The invention supports a document or dataobject preview function for addressing such instances.

Specifically, in cases where requested information pertaining to adocument or other data object selected in the contents pane 2108 is notpresent in the local databases 7612, the invention displays a previewbutton 2106. When the user presses the preview button 2106, the networkclient 7608 or the web client 7606 interacts with the enterprise server7604 to retrieve at least a portion of the additional informationpertaining to the selected data object. Preferably, the text of theselected document is transferred from the IPAM databases 7614 to thenetwork client 7608 or the web client 7606. This text is then displayedin a preview window 2202 for review by the user (see FIG. 22).

In other embodiments, additional information is transferred from theIPAM databases 7614 to the network client 7608 or the web client 7606.Such information may include image information, audio information, videoinformation, or any other information pertaining to the selected dataobject that is stored in the IPAM databases 7614. As shown in FIG. 22,such information can be displayed by selecting the appropriate tab inthe preview window 2202.

In some embodiments, if the requested information on the selecteddocument is not present in the IPAM databases 7614, the enterpriseserver 7604 operates to obtain the information from an external source.For example, the enterprise server may interact with a third partyinformation provider, such as Lexis-Nexis, or may interact with someother source, such as a human operator, a company database (such as apersonnel database, a finance database, etc.), etc.

The user reviews the information in the preview window 2202. Preferably,this information is available only on a temporary basis, and it is notstored in the local databases 7612. If the user wishes to store theinformation in the local databases 7612, then the user presses an orderbutton 2206 or issues a similar command. In response to the selection ofthe order button 2206, the enterprise server 7604 retrieves anyadditional information pertaining to the selected document from the IPAMdatabases 7614 or from some other source, and transfers such informationto the network client 7608 or the web client 7606. This information, aswell as information previously provided, is stored in the localdatabases 7612.

The processing pertaining to the data object preview function of thepresent invention is illustrated in FIG. 3. Specifically, FIG. 3illustrates the interaction between the network client 7608 and theenterprise server 7604 when performing the data object preview function318. The network client 7608 sends a preview request message to theenterprise server 7604. The preview request message is sent by thenetwork client 7608 to the enterprise server 7604 when the user pressedthe preview button 2106. The preview request message includesinformation that identifies the data object selected in the contentspane 2108. The preview request message also indicates the type of datathat is requested. For example, in some embodiments, only text datapertaining to the selected data object is requested. In otherembodiments, other types of data is requested, such as image data, audiodata, video data, or any other or all data pertaining to the selecteddata object. In other embodiments, a given type of data is alwaysrequested and provided, such as textual data, in which case a previewrequest message does not include an indication of the type of data thatis requested.

Optionally, the network client 7608 and the enterprise server 7604perform a financial exchange whereby funds are transferred from thenetwork client 7608 to the enterprise server 7604. The financialexchange is performed in those cases where the preview function isavailable only as a pay-for-used service. In the financial exchange, thefunds are electronically or otherwise transferred from the networkclient 7608 to the enterprise server 7604. The invention also includesother economic models, such as but not limited to an unlimited serviceplan, where for a given fee the user can download any number ofdocuments, and a hybrid plan where for a fee the user can download agiven number of documents. Once this limit is exceeded, the user pays ona per-document rate.

The enterprise server 7604 retrieves from the IPAM database 7614 therequested data pertaining to the selected data object, and transfersthis data to the network client 7608. The IPAM database 7614, in oneembodiment, obtains such data from a data source 304. The data is thenprocessed (indicated by oval 306), as necessary, and then stored in theIPAM database 7614. The data source 304, for example, may be a PatentOffice, departments of a corporate entity, third party informationproviders (as discussed above), etc., and/or may result from dataprocessing performed by automatic means, manual means, or combinationsthereof.

Upon receipt of the preview data by the network client 7608, the networkclient 7608 displays the preview data in the preview window 2202, asdescribed above.

The operations performed by the present invention when the user requeststhe retrieval of a data object is also represented in FIG. 3 as a dataobject retrieval function 320. In accordance with such processing, thenetwork client 7608 transfers a document request to the enterpriseserver 7604. The document request was generated by the network client7608 when the user pressed the order button 2206 in the preview window2202 (FIG. 22). The document requests includes information thatidentifies the selected data object in the contents pane 2108 and alsoidentifies the type of data that is requested (i.e., text, image, audio,video, etc.). In cases where the data object request functionality isoffered only as a pay-per-use service, the network client 7608 and theenterprise server 7604 perform a financial exchange operation in whichfunds are electronically or otherwise transferred from the networkclient 7608 to the enterprise server 7604. The enterprise server 7604retrieves the requested information from the IPAM database 7614 or othersource, and transfers such information to the network client 7608. Thenetwork client 7608 then preferably stores this information in its localdatabases 7612 (FIG. 76) for later access by the user.

Annotation

The present invention supports a variety of annotation types. Anannotation type is defined by two attributes. First, by whetherannotations of the annotation type are attached or linked to dataobjects, or portions of data objects. Second, by the scope ofannotations of the annotation type. The scope defines the extent towhich the annotations are visible or accessible. FIG. 23 is a table 2302that summarizes the attributes of the annotation types of the presentinvention.

Annotations are further described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,623,681;5,623,679; and 5,806,079, all of which are herein incorporated byreference in their entireties.

Document Annotations

A document annotation is attached or linked to a selected portion of adata object contained in a group. The scope of a document annotation isthe group in which the linked data object is contained, and that wasactive or selected at the time that the document annotation was created.Document annotations are accessible only when their respective groupsare active.

A document annotation may be linked to multiple data objects. Also, adocument annotation may be unlinked from any or all linked data objects.When a document annotation is unlinked from all linked data objects, itis called a floating, free, or unlinked annotation (as opposed to alinked annotation). Unlinked annotations maintain their original scope,and operate just like linked annotations, except that they have no linksto data objects to follow. Unlinked annotations can be linked to dataobject portions through appropriate user command. It is noted that thisdescription pertaining to document annotations is also applicable toother linkable annotation types described herein.

For example, assume that a document annotation is linked to a documentD1. Document D1 is contained in groups G1 and G2. However, at the timethat the document annotation was created, group G1 was active. That is,group G1 was selected in the group pane 104 of the group browser 102(see FIG. 1) at the time that the annotation was created. In this case,the document annotation is linked to document D1, and has a scope ofgroup G1. The document annotation is only accessible when group G1 isactive. The document annotation is not accessible when group G2 isactive, even though document D1 is in G2.

Patent Annotations

The invention supports a variety of types of document annotations. Forexample, the invention supports patent annotations. Consider FIG. 24,which displays a summary of U.S. Patent No. 5,668,742 in a data objectpane 2406 of browser 2402. Upon appropriate user command, the text ofU.S. Pat. No. 5,668,742 is displayed in a text window 2502 shown in FIG.25. According to the invention, a patent annotation is created byselecting a portion of a patent, such as the selected portion 2504 shownin FIG. 25. Such operation results in creating a subnote 2509 in a notewindow 2508 that is linked to the selected portion 2504 of U.S. Pat. No.5,668,742.

User comments can be entered into the subnote 2509. In an embodiment,location information 2511 is stored and displayed proximate to thesubnote 2509 (this is applicable for all annotation types describedherein). Such location information 2511 indicates the location of theselected portion 2504 in the data object, i.e., U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,742.

Notes are listed in the annotation pane 2510. For example, in thecurrent example, the newly created note is listed in the annotation pane2510 as entry 2512.

Corporate Document Annotations

The invention also supports corporate document annotations, in which anytype of document can be annotated. For example, in FIG. 28, summaryinformation pertaining to a corporate document selected in a contentspane 2404 is displayed in the data object pane 2406. Image informationpertaining to the selected document is displayed in an image window 2902upon execution of appropriate user commands, as shown in FIG. 29. Asindicated in FIG. 30, a portion 3002 of the image in image window 2902has been selected. This operation causes a subnote 3006 to be created ina note window 3004. The subnote 3006 is linked to the selected portion3002. The user can enter information or comments pertaining to theselected portion 3002 in the subnote 3006 (that is, the user canannotate the selected corporate document).

Image Annotations

The invention supports image annotations, wherein images can beannotated. For example, in FIG. 26, image information pertaining to U.S.Pat. No. 5,668,742 is displayed in the data object pane 2406 of thebrowser 2402. Upon appropriate user command, such image information isdisplayed in larger form in an image window 2702 shown in FIG. 27. Asindicated in FIG. 27, the user has selected a portion of the image. Thisselected portion is indicated as 2704. Upon such selection, a subnote2708 is created in a note window 2706. This subnote 2708 is linked tothe selected portion 2704. The user can enter comments pertaining to theselected portion 2704 in the subnote 2708 (that is, the user canannotate the selected portion 2704).

Group Annotations

A group annotation is not attached to a data object or a portion of adata object. The scope of a group annotation is the group that wasselected or active at the time that it was created, and the groupannotation is linked to the group. A group annotation is visible onlywhen its associated group is selected or active. Preferably, any userwith access to a group has access to the group annotations associatedwith the group.

Data Object Type Annotations

Data object type annotations are similar to group annotations. Dataobject type annotations are not attached to data objects. Instead, dataobject type annotations are linked to data object types. The scope ofdata object type annotations is the associated data object type that wasspecified when the annotation was created. Data object type annotationsare only accessible when their associated data object types are selectedor active. Like group annotations, access to data object typeannotations is generally open to any user who has access to theassociated data object type.

Case Annotations

A case is a data structure that includes a plurality of data objects.Such data objects may be in one or more groups, one or more data objecttypes, and/or one or more other cases. A case may span multiple groups,data object types, other cases, etc. That is, a case can be set toinclude a given set of groups, data object types, cases, etc. A case isa type of context.

A case annotation is attached or linked to a portion of a data objectcontained in a case. The scope of the case annotation is the case thatwas active or selected when the case annotation was created. Caseannotations are only visible if the associated case is selected oractive. Access to case annotations is preferably under the control ofthe case owner. In an embodiment, a document that is being annotated isadded to the active case automatically.

Enterprise Annotations

Enterprise annotations are attached and linked to data objects. Thescope of an enterprise application is the data object to which it islinked. Accordingly, an enterprise annotation is accessible whenever thedata object is accessible. Therefore, whenever a data object iscontained in the active context, the enterprise annotations linked tothat data object are accessible. In an embodiment, access to enterpriseannotations is limited to trusted individuals, such as administrators oradministrator designees, given the wide scope of enterprise annotation

In an embodiment, the ability to create an enterprise annotation isgranted to the user by the system administrator. The administrator wouldspecify the types of data objects that can be annotated by a user (e.g.,NDAs, patents, license agreements, and so forth).

In an embodiment, enterprise annotations are only visible to a givenuser if the creator of the enterprise annotations exported his or herannotations to the given user, and the given user subscribed to theenterprise annotations of the creator. For example, if user 1 created anenterprising annotation 1 linked to data object 1, then user 2 whenviewing data object 1 would only have access to enterprise annotation 1if user 1 exported his enterprise annotations to user 2, and user 2subscribed to the enterprise annotations of user 1. Thisexporting/subscription feature of the invention operates as both asecurity feature (enabling a creator to limit access to only thosepeople to which his enterprise annotations have been exported to), and afiltering tool (enabling a user to display only those enterpriseannotations generated by creators to which the user has subscribed).

User Interface and Note Processing

As noted above, the annotations pane contained in the browser or consolewindow lists the currently active annotations. An annotation is activeif its context is active. For example, a document annotation is activeif it is linked to a data object contained in the active group (i.e.,the group selected in the group pane of the browser). A case annotationis active if its associated case is active (that is, its associated caseis selected). A group annotation is active if its associated group isactive (that is, its associated group is selected in the group pane ofthe browser). A type annotation is active if its associated type isactive (that is, its associated type is selected in the type pane of thecontext browser). An enterprise annotation is active if the data objectto which it is linked is contained in the active context (that is, it iscontained in the active group or the active data object type).

Embodiments of the invention support a variety of formats for theannotation pane. Such formats are presented in the figures. For example,FIG. 31 illustrates an annotation pane 3102 having a tab for eachannotation type. Specifically, there is a tab 3106 for documentannotations, a tab 3108 for case annotations, a tab 3110 for groupannotations, a tab 3112 for type annotations, and a tab 3114 forenterprise annotations. To view the active annotations of any giventype, the user selects the tab associated with the type. For example, toview the currently active enterprise annotations, the user selects theenterprise tab 3114.

In embodiments of the invention, different types of annotations aredenoted by different types of attributes. For example, differentannotations may be displayed using different display attributes, such asfont, color, size, underlining, icons, etc.

It is noted that the annotation type supported by the inventionrepresent additional types of contexts. For example, enterpriseannotations represent a type of context that include either the activeenterprise annotations, and/or the data objects linked to the activeenterprise annotations.

FIG. 32 illustrates a flowchart 3202 illustrating the operation of theinvention when creating an annotation that linked to a data object (thatis, when creating a document annotation, a case annotation, or anenterprise annotation).

In step 3206, the user selects an annotation mode. This can be done, forexample, by selecting an annotation pen 3001 (see, for example, pens3001 in FIG. 30). It is noted that pens can be assigned to differenttypes of annotation types such that the type of annotation to be createddepends on the pen that is selected. Alternatively, this can be done byselecting an appropriate menu command, such as a drop down menu or amenu that it appears upon pressing the right mouse button.

In step 3208, the user selects a portion of a data object using theselected annotation pen, if any.

In step 3210, the user selects an annotation type (i.e., a document,case, or enterprise annotation). Its noted that step 3210 is performedonly when the user has not previously selected an annotation type. Forexample, as noted above, the user may have previously selected anannotation type when he selected the annotation pen 3001.

In step 3212, the system creates a new annotation of the type selectedin step 3210, and links the annotation to the portion of the data objectselected in 3208. Further in step 3212, the user enters comments ornotes to annotate the selected data object portion.

In step 3214, information pertaining to the new annotation, includingthe user entered comments, the linking information, etc., is stored inan annotation database.

FIG. 33 illustrates a flowchart 3302 that represents the operation ofthe invention when creating a group or a data object type annotation(that is, when creating an annotation that is not linked to a dataobject).

In step 3306, the user selects a group or a data object type. Theselected group or data object type becomes the active group or dataobject type.

In step 3308, the user selects a group or type annotation mode. This canbe done, for example, by selecting an appropriate menu command, or byselecting an appropriate annotation pen 3001.

In step 3310, the system creates a new annotation of the selected type.The new annotation is linked to the active or selected group or dataobject type. Also in step 3310, the user enters notes or comments tothereby annotate the active group or data object type.

In step 3312, information pertaining to the annotation, such as theuser's comments, the linking information, etc., are stored in anannotation database.

Form-based Annotations

As noted elsewhere, the present invention supports annotation of dataobjects. For example, FIG. 78A illustrates an example window 7802wherein a data object 7803 is being displayed. The present inventionenables annotation of any portion of the data object 7803.

The window 7802 includes a plurality of annotation pens 7804. The userplaces the system in an annotation mode by selecting one of theannotation pens 7804 (the invention includes other ways of placing thesystem in the annotation mode, such as selecting an appropriate commandfrom a menu or dialog). The user utilizes the selected annotation pen toselect a portion of the data object 7803. For example, FIG. 78Billustrates a selected portion 7806 of the data object 7803 that hasbeen selected using the selected annotation pen. Upon selecting theselected portion 7806, the system automatically creates a newannotation, which is illustrated as note segment 7810 in note 7808. Thenote segment 7810 is automatically linked to the selected portion 7806.

Preferably, the cursor is automatically positioned in an annotationfield 7814 of the note segment 7810 so the user can record hisobservations. When finished, the user presses the save button 7850. Uponpressing the save button 7850, information pertaining to the annotation,such as the user's comments in the annotation window 7814, linkinginformation, location information, the name of the annotation, whetherthe annotation includes privileged information, etc., are stored in anappropriate data format. Preferably, in a single user system, suchannotation information is stored on the local computer. In a multi-usersystem, the annotation information is preferably stored in a database insuch a way that the information can be securely shared with other users.

In the embodiment being described, the system does not provide anyguidelines or place any restrictions on the scope and content of thecomments. Accordingly, comments entered by the user may be of no valueto himself or others. In some cases, the user's comments may beinappropriate given the circumstances under which the comments weresolicited.

The user's comments comprise free form text which is entered in theannotation field 7814. In the embodiment being described, the commentsare stored in an unstructured data format that is appropriate forstoring free text, such as but not limited to a flat file database or abinary large object (BLOB) in a relational database. This data format isnot structured in any way and is therefore not appropriate for storingin a standard relational database format.

According to an embodiment, the invention supports form-basedannotations. Form-based annotations extend the operation of theannotation system described above to allow an expert user to create aspecific form that is directed and limited to the information that onewishes the user to provide. Herein, for reference purposes, the personwho creates a form is referred to as the form creator and the person whouses the form in the process of making an annotation is the annotationcreator. Preferably, the form-based annotation system operates in asecure, multi-user, client/server system.

FIG. 79 illustrates an example annotation form, which is called thescreening form 7902. According to the invention, annotation formsinclude any well known input widgets, such as radio buttons (choose onefrom many items), check boxes (which represents, for example, yes/no ortrue/false), text input fields (that may include edit checks), etc. Forexample, the annotation form 7902 includes radio button fields 7906,7908, 7912, a structured date field 7910, and a name field 7904 whichincludes an edit check 7914 to ensure that proper data is entered.

According to the invention, data entered into one or more fields of anannotation form are stored in relational database fields. The number ofannotation form fields that are stored in relational database fieldsvary from form to form, depending on the specific implementation of theform creator.

In the example of the annotation form 7902 of FIG. 79, informationentered into the name annotation form field 7904 is stored in a namefield 7926 of a relational database table 7922. Information from theradio button fields 7906, 7908, and 7912 are stored in fields 7928,7930, and 7936, respectively, of the relational database table 7922.Date information entered into the when annotation form field 7910 isstored in a date field 7932 of the relational database table 7922.

FIG. 80 illustrates another example annotation form, called the commentsform 8002. In the example embodiment of FIG. 80, information entered inthe comments form 8002 is stored in either a structured table 8016 or afree form table 8018. The structured table 8016 and the free form table8018 collectively comprise a comments form database 8014. In particular,name information entered into a name annotation field 8004 is stored ina name field 8022 of the structured table 8016. Information from radiobutton fields 8006 and 8008 are stored in a product 1 field 8024 and aproduct 2 field 8026, respectively, of the structured table 8016. Freetext information entered into a comments on claim 1 field 8010 and acomments on claim 2 field 8012 are stored in rows of the free form table8018.

It should be understood that the particular database tableimplementations of the screening form 7902 and the comments form 8002shown in FIGS. 79 and 80 are provided for purposes of illustration only,and not limitation. Other database and table implementations will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant arts based on the teachingscontained herein. Also, the particular configurations and arrangementsof the screening form 7902 and the comments form 8002 are provided forillustrative purposes only, and are not limiting. Other forms will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant arts based on the teachingscontained herein.

FIG. 82 illustrates a flow chart 8202 that represents the operation ofthe form-based annotation system according to an embodiment of theinvention.

In step 8204, a form creator creates a form, such as the screening form7902 or the comments form 8002. The form creator is any user who hasbeen designated as a person capable of creating and editing forms.

In step 8206, one or more relational database tables are created for theform, if necessary. Information entered into the form created in step8204 will be stored in these database tables. These database tables maybe created by the form creator or by some other user, such as but notlimited to a system administrator.

In step 8208, the form creator selects one or more relational databasetables for storing the information that is to be entered into the form.The selected database tables may include, for example, one or more ofthe tables created in step 8206, and/or other database tables created atother times.

In step 8210, the form creator assigns one or more fields (columns) fromthe selected relational database tables to each of the fields of theform. Data entered into the fields of the form are stored in theselected database table fields.

In step 8212, the form creator specifies and defines any additionalfeatures of the form. For example, the form creator can specifyprocessing associated with any of the fields of the form. ConsideringFIG. 79, for example, the name field 7904 involves processing 7914 tocheck name information against a company directory to ensure that thename information was entered correctly into the name field 7904. Thescreening form 7902 also includes processing 7916 associated with thewhen field 7910 that involves confirming that the date entered into thewhen field 7910 is a valid date. The when field 7910 includes furtherprocessing 7920 associated with comparing the date entered into the whenfield 7910 with a projected IDS (information disclosure statement)filing date 7918 to identify issues associated with submittingreferences to the U.S. Patent Office. For example, if the projected IDSfiling date 7918 is greater than 3 months after the date entered intothe when field 7910, then a flag is set in database field 7934. The flagindicates that there may be an issue relating to whether or not thereference can be cited with the U.S. Patent Office in satisfaction ofthe duty of disclosure for a pending U.S. patent application. Other formfeatures that can be specified in step 8212 is further described below.

After step 8212 is completed, the design of the form is complete. Steps8214, 8216, and 8218 involve the manner in which an annotation creatoruses a form.

In step 8214, the annotation creator selects a form. The form is tied toa specific pen (or some other annotation invocation mechanism, such asan option on a menu). The annotation creator selects the pen for theform, thereby informing the system which form to invoke, how tocollect/store the data, etc.

In step 8216, the selected form is displayed. The annotation creatorenters information into the form as specified by the fields of the form.

In step 8218, information entered into the fields of the form is storedin the associated relational database fields as defined by step 8210.

The operation of the form-based annotation system of the presentinvention is further described with reference to a flow chart 8302 shownin FIGS. 83A and 83B. Steps 8304, 8306, and 8308 of flow chart 8302generally correspond to steps 8204, 8206, 8208, 8210, and 8212 offlowchart 8202 of FIG. 82. Step 8310 of flowchart 8302 generallycorresponds to steps 8214, 8216, and 8218 of flowchart 8202 of FIG. 82.

In step 8304, preferably the system administrator authorizes a givenuser (the form creator) to create forms. In other words, the ability tocreate, modify, edit, and otherwise operate with forms is preferably asecured operation. This is because the creation of the form includesappropriate provisions for storing the data acquired for the use of theform in relational database(s) for backend statistical processing, aswell as other processing.

In step 8306, the form creator logs into the system and creates a formto capture the data he is interested in capturing.

The invention supports all known input widgets, including radio buttons,text input fields, check boxes, etc. The form creator explicitly orimplicitly associates input widgets with back end database tables. Eventhe meta content of the tables may be stored with the form allowing forthe use of sophisticated data mining applications of the form and thedata. It is also possible to associate programmic operations with theform. Examples of such operations include edit checks on input fields,processing based on data entered into fields, invocation of otherapplications based on information entered into fields, etc.

In step 8308, the form creator associates the form with a pen (such asone of the annotation pens 7804 as shown in FIG. 78A) or otherannotation mechanism (such as a pull down menu). This is part of apublishing process in which the form creator also specifies appropriateidentifying characteristics of the form (such as a name of the form) andthe storage locations of the data that is to be captured by form (thatis, the relational database table fields in which the data entered intothe form is stored).

The publishing process also allows the form creator to specify whichuser or groups of users should be allowed access to the form. Users arepreferably identified by either their log in I.D. (identification) or bya role I.D. that specifies the role that they are assuming with respectto the operation of the system. In this way, the form creator cancustomize the operation and presentation of a given form-based on theuser's role. For example, for a particular form, some fields are shownto marketing people, whereas other fields are shown to engineeringpeople. Some fields may be shown to both marketing and engineeringpeople. Further, some processing may be performed when the user has amarketing role, and other processing may be performed when the user hasan engineering role. Some processing may be shown to both engineeringand marketing people.

In an embodiment, the role based process described above allows a personto play multiple roles at the same time. Thus, a marketing/engineeringrole would see both marketing and engineering forms.

The form creator can also associate multiple forms with a singleannotation mechanism. The form creator can further decide if they wantthe system to route the form to specific users and, if so, the manner ofrouting.

After completion of step 8308, design of the form is complete. In step8310, the annotation creator uses the form to create an annotation. Inparticular, the annotation creator creates a new annotation by possiblyusing a pen, as described above. The system invokes the form associatedwith the pen and presents it to the user. In a case that multiple formshave been associated with a single annotation mechanism, the systempresents a choice of forms to the user for selection (e.g., through apull down menu, or pick list). Alternatively, the system sequencesthrough the forms associated with the annotation mechanism. The userenters the information called for by the form, and the system storesthis information in the appropriate relational database locations (andpotentially other non-relational database locations) as specified whenthe form was being designed.

The form-based annotation system will now be further described byconsidering a number of examples.

Medical Example As noted above, form-based annotations can be used tobetter ensure that specific and desired information is collected fromthe user. Consider a doctor who has asked a colleague to review an X-rayto determine if a specific medical condition is present. The colleaguemay not fully understand the request, and enter irrelevant informationas an observation if they are using a text field for annotations, aswith the “free-text” annotation system of FIGS. 78A and 78B. However,the doctor could create a form that asks specific medical questions. Inthis case, when their colleague makes an annotation, he would beprompted for the desired medical input.

Legal Example

A lawyer may wish to have an engineer comment on one or more claims of apatent, but would like to control the specific commentary that can beentered by the engineer. With free-text annotations, the engineer couldinadvertently enter inappropriate information. With form-basedannotations, the lawyer could limit the amount and kind of informationthat an engineer could enter.

For example, consider the scenario shown in FIG. 81. A novice user 8108fills out a screening form 8106 (see FIG. 79), which is then stored inthe screening form database 7922. The completed screening form 8106 isalso automatically routed to the IP (intellectual property) attorney8110 (this operation is programmed into the screening form). If, incompleting the screening form 8106, the user 8108 checked the “Do youbelieve we should further study this patent?” field, then the commentsform (FIG. 80) is routed to the novice user 8108 and an expert user 8120to solicit their comments (this operation is programmed into thescreening form).

The comments form is completed by both the novice user 8108 and theexpert user 8120. Their completed comments forms 8118, 8124 are storedin the comments form database 8014. Also, the novice user's completedcomments form 8118 is routed to the expert user 8120 for review (this isprogrammed into the comments form). The expert user 8120 may revise thenovice user's completed comments form 8118. The revised comment form isindicated as 8122. The revised comment form 8122 is stored in thecomments form database 8014.

Similarly, the completed comments forms 8118 and 8124 are routed to theIP attorney 8110, who may enter his own comments 8112, which are storedin the comments form database 8014 (this is programmed into the commentsform).

Product Development Example

There are times when one user, who is an expert in one domain, wantsspecific opinions from one or more users whose expertise lies indifferent, but related, domains. In this case the first expert couldannotate a specific portion of a data object. When another expertaccesses this annotation the system will prompt them, through the use ofa form-based annotation, for their opinion of the annotated data object.The system provides a wide variety of mechanisms to obtain feedback fromexpert users, as well as other selected users, including routing andmultiple routing slips and time-based expirations.

Consider a product development example where a product marketing managermay want an engineer to provide a cost estimate on how much it wouldcost to manufacture a patented product to help determine long-termproduct strategy. In this case, the marketing manager would associateappropriate edit-checks on the input widgets of the form to ensure thatthe engineers are entering in numeric information in a reasonable range.Because a decision is needed quickly the marketing manager routes itthrough the company email system to all of “ENGINEERING” specifying atime-limit of 7 days. If an engineer does not respond within 7 days thesystem automatically removes the request from their “work queue”.

Note that an engineer may annotate the patent several times, therebyproviding multiple cost estimates, one for each annotated portion of thepatent that would, in the opinion of the engineer, result in a componentor portion of the product. In this case, the system would operate in amanner similar to free-text annotations, automatically creatingsub-forms contained within a larger “form” (much like creating sub-notesin the context of a note). The form-creator would have to decide on theoperation of these forms during the creation process (e.g., theform-creator would either allow or reject the use of multiple sub-formswithin a form).

Additional Product Development Example

Form-based annotations enable the collection and storage of observationsof users who make annotations in a way that these observations can beused for reliable reporting and other statistical data miningoperations.

Consider the product development example discussed above. After 7 daysthe product marketing manager could run a report that produces theweighted average of the cost estimates from the engineers. The systemcould perform this report by querying specific database columns, andextracting data from specific database columns. For example, the systemcan execute a search in a Department column of the relational databaseto identify all rows of the database that correspond to annotations madeby members of a given engineering department. The system can thenextract data from the “Cost Estimate” column of the identified rows.

Accordingly, the form-based annotation system of the inventionfacilitates data mining, statistical processing, and other processing ofthe annotation data.

If, instead, a free text format was used, it would be necessary to parsethe free-text to extract the desired information.

It is noted that the invention is not limited to only storinginformation in formally structured fields within a relational database.In fact, a form could contain a mixture of structured fields (such asdates, numbers, or Boolean) and unstructured text fields, as discussedabove.

Medical Teaching Example

With free text annotations, for example, the user selects a portion of adata object and then describes why the selected portion is relevant.Sometimes this is exactly the opposite order of what is desired.Specifically, sometimes an expert user wants a different (and perhapsmore novice) user to annotate a portion of a data object in response towhat the expert user created.

For example, a teacher could create the contents of an annotation andask students to “find the spot where the annotation is true”. Forexample, a teacher could prepare a series of x-rays of difficult todiagnose fractures. The assignment could be: “Identify the location ofthe hairline fracture”. Students would then annotate the data objectwhere they thought the fracture was using a form-based annotation,possibly adding commentary on their selection in a new annotation window(or in the original). The teacher could then compare the work of thestudent to a known standard.

Searching

The invention supports a variety of types of data objects. For example,the invention supports patent related data objects, corporate documents(which, in some embodiments, constitute non-patent related dataobjects), etc. Such data objects are preferably stored in systemdatabases, such as the IPAM databases 7614 and/or local databases 7612(see FIG. 76). The invention also supports data objects that are notstored in system databases. For example, the invention supports dataobjects that are available from third parties. Such third partiesinclude, but are not limited to, on-line data providers, such asLEXIS-NEXIS, Dialog, Westlaw, Derwent, etc. Third parties also include,but are not limited to, public or government databases, such as thoseassociated with the SEC, FCC, FDA, Department of Motor Vehicles, SocialSecurity, etc. With regard to such third party providers, the inventionsupports establishing a link with the third parties, and enabling usersof the invention to interact with the third parties via the link. Suchthird party providers include well known interfaces or APIs (applicationprogramming interfaces). In embodiments, the invention interacts withsuch third parties via their respective interfaces or APIs.

The invention includes functionality to enable users to conduct complexsearches through the data objects that it supports. The inventionprovides detailed graphical user interfaces (GUI) to enable users todefine their searches. FIG. 34 illustrates an example search GUI 3402.In the example of FIG. 34, the search GUI 3402 includes a variety oftabs associated with the data object types supported by the invention.

For example, the invention includes a patent documents tab 3404 forspecifying a search among the patents stored in the system databases.The search GUI 3402 also includes a corporate documents tab 3406 forspecifying a search among the corporate documents stored in the system(see FIG. 35). The search GUI 3402 also includes an all documents tab3408 for specifying a search among all data objects stored in orsupported by the system (see FIG. 36).

The search GUI 3402 further includes tabs for third party informationproviders supported by the system. For example, and without limitation,a LEXIS-NEXIS tab 3410 in the search GUI 3402 is selected to define asearch to be performed by the LEXIS-NEXIS system: In an embodiment, uponproviding such search criteria, a link is established with the thirdparty information provider wherein the third party is instructed toperform the specified search. Search results are then returned to thesystem (i.e., the enterprise server 7604, the network client 7608,and/or the web client 7606). Such information is then treated as anyother system information.

Further details pertaining to the searching capabilities of theinvention are described in U.S. Patent Application “System, Method, andComputer Program Product for Patent-Centric and Group-Oriented DataProcessing,” Ser. No. 08/867,392, incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

Data Presenting and Processing Using Visualization Technologies, Such asHyperbolic Trees

The invention supports the use of a variety of visualizationtechnologies to present information to users. Such technologies include,but are not limited to, hyperbolic trees. Other technologies useful forpresenting data to users are discussed in sections below.

A hyperbolic tree or a hyperbolic browser is a well known “focus pluscontext” technique for visualizing and manipulating data hierarchies,such as trees. A hyperbolic browser assigns for display a portion of atree while still embedding in it the context of the entire tree. Theessence of this scheme is to lay out the tree in a uniform way on ahyperbolic plane and map this plane onto a display region, such as butnot limited to a circular display region (other display geometries arealso possible). Thus, hyperbolic trees support a smooth blending betweenfocus and content, as well as continuous redirection of the focus.

An example hyperbolic tree 3702 is illustrated in FIG. 37. Thehyperbolic tree 3702 includes a root node 3704 and a plurality ofadditional nodes connected either directly or indirectly to the rootnode 3704. Additional portions of the hyperbolic tree 3702 can beexpanded and displayed in the window 3712 (that is, focus can beredirected to those portions) by traversing to the desired portions inthe hyperbolic tree 3702. An operator traverses the hyperbolic tree 3702using a pointing device, such as a mouse.

According to the invention, the hierarchical information represented inhyperbolic trees may come from any source, including but not limited topatent offices, corporate entities, public records, individual users,etc. In an embodiment, the hierarchical information is patent related,but the invention is not limited to this embodiment.

The invention provides a variety of functions to enable users tocustomize the display of hyperbolic trees. For example, embodiments ofthe invention store state information in each node of the hyperbolictree.

FIG. 42B illustrates example node state information 4202 which is storedin each node of the hyperbolic tree. The node state information 4202includes the label that is displayed in the associated node. Forexample, the label of node 3706 in FIG. 37 is “claim 271”.

The node state information 4202 also includes display attributeinformation that indicates the manner in which the node is to bedisplayed in the window 3712. Such display attributes include anyattributes for displaying information on a computer screen, such asfont, color, bold, italics, underlining, visible/invisible, etc. Thedisplay attributes also include user defined and custom attributes,which are entered by a user. The user defined attributes are useful toenable users to specify the display of nodes to meet their specificapplications.

In some embodiments, the display attributes of a node are automaticallyset based on the information corresponding to the node. For example,when a hyperbolic tree is used to display a patent claim tree, thedisplay attributes of nodes may depend on whether the nodes correspondto a patent or a claim, an independent claim or a dependent claim, adisclaimed claim, a valid claim, an invalid claim, an infringed claim, anon-infringed claim, a claim that has been annotated, etc.

In some embodiments, the display attributes may be set according toinformation entered into the user defined field. For example, if theuser enters that a given claim is invalid, then the font and colordisplay attributes may be set to preselected values corresponding toinvalid claims. Therefore, the user defined field(s) and the displayattributes portion of the node state information 4202 may specify actualdisplay attributes (such as crosshatching), or state information thatthe system uses to automatically set the display attributes.

The node state information 4202 also includes link information thatestablishes a link between the node and associated information in thesystem databases (i.e., the IPAM databases 7614 and/or the localdatabases 7612 shown in FIG. 76). In the case of a claim tree 3702 inFIG. 37, the link information establishes a link between the node andthe text of the claim associated with the node. Alternatively, suchclaim text can be stored in the node itself as part of the node stateinformation 4202. In other embodiments, a portion of the claim text(such as the preamble or a portion thereof) is stored in the node aspart of the node state information 4202, and the link information in thenode state information 4202 establishes a link to all of or theremaining portion of the claim text.

The invention supports functions to edit the appearance of a hyperbolictree. For example, the invention allows a user to prune a tree byremoving nodes or branches. In embodiments of the invention, suchpruning is accomplished by deleting the identified nodes and/or branchesfrom the tree. In other embodiments of the invention, such pruning isaccomplished by appropriate setting of the display attributes of theselected nodes and/or branches. Specifically, nodes corresponding toportions of the tree which a user has selected to delete are set toinvisible or transparent.

Specific embodiments of hyperbolic trees supported by the invention aredescribed below. It is noted that these embodiments are provided forillustrative purposes only, and are not limiting. Additionalapplications of hyperbolic trees will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein.

Patent Claim Trees

As noted above, the invention includes a patent claim tree module thatsupports patent claim trees.

The patent claim tree module generates a graphically displayed claimtree from a collection of claims. The patent claim tree module worksboth as a standalone product, and as an add-on to IPAM.

The patent claim tree module includes a mechanism to elicit help fromthe user when it fails to understand enough about a claim to perform itsfunction. Whenever the patent claim tree module experiences ambiguity orfailure in the processing of a claim, it will produce a log entrycontaining the text of the claim, the claim properties inferred by thepatent claim tree module, and any corrections brought about by the user.

The patent claim tree module preferably uses the graphical display ofthe tree to convey visually the properties of individual claims. Theseproperties include, but are not limited to:

-   -   Root/Independent/Dependent    -   Claim type (Method, Composition of matter, Machine, . . . )

Other properties are described herein.

In some embodiments, the style of claims supported by the patent claimtree module is limited to the one prevalent in standard utility patents.As a result, the patent claim tree module covers claim sectionscontained in any document whose style is substantially identical to thatof utility patents (e.g. Reissues, Statutory inventions). Alternativeembodiments support other claim styles that are different (e.g. Designpatents, Plant patents).

FIG. 87 illustrates an example patent claim tree module 8706, which isalso herein called a claims processor. The patent claim tree module 8706is composed of three main stages: A Preprocessor, an Aggregator, and aclaim parser.

The responsibilities of the Preprocessor include:

-   -   Remove any leading or trailing text    -   Divide the text into a collection of claims    -   Turn the input character stream into a token stream that only        contains the words that may be of use to the rest of the        process.

The Aggregator further turns sets of tokens following certain patternsinto single tokens.

The claim parser uses the token string corresponding to each claim toset the properties of that claim as well as its dependency relationshipsto other claims. Its final product is preferably a directed a-cyclicgraph representing the claims of the collection, their properties, andtheir dependencies.

An example claim tree 3702 is shown in FIG. 37. In the claim tree 3702,the root node 3704 represents the patent or the patent application. Inthe example of FIG. 37, the claim tree 3762 corresponds to a patentapplication having Attorney Docket No. 1531_(—)0010006.

The nodes directly connected to the root node 3704, such as the nodescorresponding to claims 181, 208, 235, 271, 272, 273, and 274, representthe independent claims in the patent or patent application. The nodesconnected to these independent claim nodes represent the dependentclaims of the respective independent claims. The links in the patentclaim tree 3702 represent the dependencies between claims.

The invention supports a number of functions to facilitate the displayand analysis of claims. For example, when the cursor is positionedproximate to or over a claim node, a portion of the claim is displayed(in other embodiments, the entire claim is displayed). In FIG. 37, forexample, the cursor 3708 is displayed over node 3706 corresponding toclaim 271. According to this embodiment of the invention, a portion ofclaim 271 is retrieved and displayed in window 3710. This portion of theclaim can be retrieved from the node state information 4202, ifavailable, or can be retrieved from a system database (such as the IPAMdatabases 7614 and/or the local databases 7612) by access to the linkinformation in the node state information 4202.

The invention also supports a “display claim branch” function. As iswell known, a dependent claim is construed to include the baseindependent claim and any intervening claims. When the user positionsthe cursor over a dependent claim and selects the “display claim branch”command, the system retrieves the text of the selected claim, its baseindependent claim, and any intervening claims between the selected claimand the base independent claim. Such retrieval can be accomplished, forexample, by following the links in the claim tree 3702 from the selectedclaim to the associated independent claim. The invention then displaysthe retrieved claim language in the order of dependency. In anembodiment, the retrieved claim text is concatenated in order of theindependent base claim, the intervening claims, and finally the selecteddependent claim.

For example, assume that the user elected to perform a “display claimbranch” function on claim 270 shown in FIG. 37 as being dependent onclaim 235. The text of claim 270 is illustrated in window 4002 of FIG.40. The text of claim 235 is illustrated in window 3902 of FIG. 39. Uponissuing the “display claim branch” command on claim 270, the inventionretrieves the text of claims 270 and 235. The invention thenconcatenates the retrieved text in order of dependency. The concatenatedtext is then displayed in a window, for example, window 4102 of FIG. 41.Note that the information displayed in window 4102 has a portion 4104corresponding to claim 235, and a portion 4106 corresponding to claim270.

Other display formats for presenting and displaying the retrieved claimtext will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant arts based onthe discussion contained herein.

Claim trees are useful for a number of applications, including but notlimited to:

-   -   Automatically calculating claims fees for adding independent and        dependent claims to a pending application or at the time a case        is allowed.    -   Separating out “method” and “process” claims from preamble        search criteria.    -   Identifying “system” claims from preamble search criteria.    -   Identifying “compound” and “chemical structure” claims from        preamble search criteria.    -   Identifying “Jepson” type claims by searching for appropriate        preamble language.    -   Showing “Once Amended”, “Twice Amended” and similar distinctions        in claims submitted by adding these terms to the search criteria        immediately following the claim number.    -   Graphically showing claim dependency for ease of analysis.    -   Graphically showing claim dependency to determine claim scope        and coverage.    -   Generating claim charts for presentations.

The claim tree functionality of the present invention supportsperformance of these tasks.

FIG. 38 includes a flowchart 3802 that represents the operation of theinvention when generating and processing claim trees.

In step 3806, a claim is selected for processing. As noted above, theclaim can be from a patent or a patent application, as long as thepatent or patent application is stored in system databases.

In step 3808, the invention determines whether the selected claim is anindependent or dependent claim. This is done by parsing the claim textto search for keywords that indicate whether the claim is independent ordependent. For example, the claim text may be parsed for the word“claim” in the preamble, which would indicate that the selected claim isa dependent claim.

If the claim is determined to be a dependent claim, then in step 3810the claim text is parsed to identify the claim or claims on which itdepends.

Accordingly, steps 3808 and 3810 correspond to parsing the claimlanguage to identify claim properties and information used to generatethe claim tree. Embodiments of the invention operate to recognize keywords, phrases, and/or patterns in claims to identify such claimproperties and information. The invention is flexible in this regard.

The need for flexibility in this area is motivated by the fact that,even though the language and structure of claims is constrained, claimsare still expressed in natural language and present substantialvariations in the terms and linguistic patterns used. This requires thepatent claim tree module to be easily extensible to recognize new wordsand linguistic patterns that denote properties supported by the patentclaim tree module.

Therefore, embodiments of the patent claim tree module include aconfiguration file. The configuration file includes information that:

-   -   enable specification of words and phrases that denote properties        identified and supported by the patent claim tree module (for        example, one of these items will be the claim type of Process,        which can be denoted, for example, by either the word “method”        or the word “process”); and    -   enable specification of words and phrases the patent claim tree        module must recognize to correctly segment the text into        individual claims, and the claims into sections. Two such        phrases are, for example, “as claimed in claim,” “in accordance        with claim”, or “of claim,” which introduce one or more claims a        claim depends on.

The configuration file can be modified.

In particular, the invention allows the addition of new textualpatterns.

Also, in some cases, the user is ask to specify a textual pattern thatmay help the patent claim tree module deal with a given situation in thefuture.

Steps 3806, 3808, and 3810 are performed for each claim in the patentand/or application, as indicated by control flow line 3811. Based on theinformation obtained from processing steps 3806, 3808, and 3810, a claimdependency graph is generated in step 3812.

In step 3814, the claim dependency graph is mapped to a hyperbolic treeor another presentation tool.

In step 3816, the hyperbolic tree is displayed. The display of thehyperbolic tree utilizes the attributes stored in the node stateinformation 4202 of each node. As noted above, such attributes may havebeen automatically established and processed based on information storedin the system, or may be user defined. The user may enter user definedattribute information by selecting an appropriate menu command, as shownin menu 4202 of FIG. 42A.

In step 3818, if the mouse is positioned proximate to or over a node, atleast a portion of the text of the claim corresponding to the node isretrieved and displayed. This capability of the invention is furtherdescribed above.

In step 3820, if the user selects a dependent claim and selects the“display claim branch” command (see menu 4202 in FIG. 42A), then the“display claim branch” function for the selected claim is performed. The“display claim branch” function is described above.

A user can elect to display the full text and/or image of any claim inthe tree. This is done by positioning the cursor proximate to or overthe node corresponding to the claim, and then selecting the “displayclaim” command from menu 4202.

The invention supports other processing of patent claims. For example,the invention supports automatic processing to compare a claim to anarbitrary text description.

Such processing can be used to analyze a claim for infringementpurposes. In this application, the claim is compared to a description ofa device or process that is accused of infringing the claim. Possibleinfringement is indicated if there is a close similarity between theclaim and the device/process description.

Such processing can also be used to analyze a claim forpatentability/validity purposes. In this application, the claim iscompared to a description of one or more publications and/or events thatmight possibly render the claim unpatentable. Possibleunpatentability/invalidity is indicated if there is a close similaritybetween the claim and the publications/events description.

Such processing can also be used to analyze a claim to determine ifsufficient support for the claim is contained in the patentspecification. In this application, the claim is compared to thespecification. Probable support for the claim is indicated if there is aclose similarity between the claim and the specification.

In an embodiment, the automatic claim comparison process of theinvention is performed by normalizing the claim language of the claimthrough an implementation dependent linguistic process. The descriptionto which the claim is to be compared is then normalized through acorresponding (sometimes identical or similar) process. The normalizedtexts are then compared to identify similarities and differences. Aconclusion is then reached based on the context of the analysis (i.e.,whether it is for purposes of infringement, patentability, validity,support, etc.)

An example of such processing is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,754,840,which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

As noted above, the patent claim tree module is capable of working in astand-alone mode. In this mode, an example use scenario is as follows:

1. The user invokes the patent claim tree module.

2. The patent claim tree module comes up. It includes a maininput/output window.

3. The user pastes a claim collection into the patent claim treemodule's main input window.

4. The user configures the patent claim tree module by adjusting anyavailable options.

5. The user press the tree generation button.

6. The patent claim tree module produces a graphical representation ofthe claims tree within a special purpose window. Errors and warnings areoutput to the log window.

The patent claim tree module can also work with IPAM. In this mode, anexample use scenario is as follows:

1. The user selects a document within IPAM.

2. The user applies the “view claim tree” command to it (e.g. availableinside the right-click pop-up).

3. The command routine (within IPAM) opens the document, extracts theclaim section, and invokes the patent claim tree module. The claimsection is passed to the patent claim tree module which comes up andpastes in its input/output window.

4. The user configures the patent claim tree module by adjusting anyavailable options.

5. The user press the tree generation button.

6. The patent claim tree module produces a graphical representation ofthe claims tree within a special purpose window. Errors and warnings areoutput to the log window.

These use scenarios are provided for purposes of illustration only. Theinvention is not limited to these use scenarios. Other use scenarioswill be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on theherein teachings.

Patent Citation Trees (Patent and Non-patent Citations)

The invention supports patent citation trees. An example citation tree4302 is shown in FIG. 43. In the patent citation tree 4302, each noderepresents a patent, and each link represents a citation. Whenperforming a forward patent citation function, the links going from theroot node toward the children nodes or leaves represent the directedassociation “is cited in,” as in “parent node is cited in child node.”When performing a backward citation function, the links going from theroot node toward the leaves represent the directed association “cites,”as in “parent node cites child node.”

The invention supports displaying a variety of labels in the nodes ofthe tree. The labels may be any information pertaining to the dataobjects that they represent. For example, in the case where the dataobject is a patent, the labels may be any bibliographic information ofthe patent, including but not limited to the patent number, inventors,assignee, claim language (or excerpt), specification (or excerpt),drawing information such as an image of a figure, class/subclass, patentexaminer, law firm, etc. The label that is displayed is user selectable.

Both patents and non-patent documents and data objects may be cited inany given patent. According to the present invention, both patents andnon-patent documents/data objects are represented in the patent citationtree 4302. For example, assume that the patent citation tree 4302 is abackwards patent citation. According to this example, patent B andpatent C represented by nodes 4306 and 4308, respectively, are cited inpatent A represented by node 4304. Non-patent documents or data objectsC and D, represented by nodes 4310 and 4312, are also cited in patent A.

According to the invention, information pertaining to the data objectsin nodes of a hyperbolic tree, whether a patent citation tree orotherwise, can be retrieved and displayed by selecting the node. Suchfunctionality is accomplished by, for example, reference to the linkinformation in the node state information 4202, or by reference toappropriate database tables.

The display attributes of nodes can be set according to informationpertaining to the data objects that they represent. In the case wherethe data objects are patents, for example, the display attributes ofnodes can be set according to any bibliographic information of thepatent, including but not limited to the patent number, inventors,assignee, claim language (or excerpt), specification (or excerpt),drawing information such as an image of a figure, class/subclass, patentexaminer, law firm, etc. For example, the user can indicate that patentsassigned to company X be color coded blue, whereas patents assigned tocompany Y be color coded red. In response to this input, the systemautomatically color codes nodes based on their assignee information.

Alternatively, the user can manually set the display attributes ofnodes.

It is noted that this aspect of the invention has been described in thecontext of patent citation trees. However, the invention is applicableto data objects of any type that cite or are cited by other dataobjects. Accordingly, more generally, the invention supports data objectcitation trees.

According to embodiments of the invention, citations in citation treesare not limited to data object references that appear in any particularlocation of the data object(s) in question. For example, a backwardcitation tree for a U.S. patent is not limited to citations that appearon the front page of the U.S. patent. Also, a citation tree for atechnical article is not limited to citations contained in thebibliography of the article. Instead, citation trees can includecitations to data objects that can be referenced anywhere in the dataobject(s) in question.

Preferably, in the case of patents, the invention includes data/textprocessing techniques for culling/identifying citation references topatents and non-patent documents that are contained within thespecification but not listed on the first page bibliographic section.Parsing techniques to identify data in data objects are well known, andany can be used to implement this aspect of the invention. Suchreferences can be included in patent citation trees (they could bedisplayed using different display attributes to denote their existencein the body of the specification, or can be displayed in differenttrees).

Example Databases

Databases for implementing the patent citation function of the presentinvention are illustrated in FIGS. 44 and 45. FIG. 44 illustrates apatent ref table 4402 that stores information on patents that were citedduring the prosecution of a given patent. The patent ref table 4402includes a record for each patent that was cited during the prosecutionof a given patent application. Each record of the patent ref table 4402includes a document_ID that identifies a base patent, and a refpatentnothat identifies a reference patent (i.e., a patent that is cited in thebase patent).

FIG. 45 illustrates a non-patent ref table 4404 that stores informationon non-patent data objects that were cited during the prosecution of agiven patent. The non-patent ref table 4404 includes a record for eachnon-patent data object that was cited during the prosecution of a givenpatent application. Each record of the non-patent ref table 4404includes a document_ID that identifies a base patent, and a RefNo thatidentifies a non-patent data object that was cited in the base patent.

Information pertaining to other databases used by the invention iscontained in U.S. patent applications “System, Method, and ComputerProgram Product for Patent-Centric and Group-Oriented Data Processing,”Ser. No. 08/867,392, and “System, Method and Computer Program Productfor Managing and Analyzing Intellectual Property (IP) RelatedTransactions,” Ser. No. 09/138,368, incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

The operation of the patent ref table 4402 and the non-patent ref table4404 is illustrated in FIGS. 46 and 47. FIG. 46 presents an examplepatent ref table 4602 corresponding to the patent citation tree 4302shown in FIG. 43. The patent ref table 4602 indicates that patents B andC are cited in patent A and patent D is cited in patent B.

FIG. 47 illustrates an example non-patent ref table 4702 that alsocorresponds to the patent citation tree 4302 in FIG. 43. The non-patentref table 4702 indicates that non-patent data objects C and D are citedin patent A, non-patent data object A is cited in patent B, andnon-patent data object D is cited in patent C.

Additional details regarding patent citation trees according to theinvention are discussed in U.S. patent applications “System, Method, andComputer Program Product for Patent-Centric and Group-Oriented DataProcessing,” Ser. No. 08/867,392, and “Using Hyperbolic Trees toVisualize Data Generated by Patent-Centric and Group-Oriented DataProcessing,” Ser. No. 08/921,369, incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

Data Object Family Trees

The present invention supports data object families. A data objectfamily comprises a collection of data objects that are somehow related,and information pertaining to the relationships between the data objectsin the family.

There are many types of families and family relationships. For example,the patent citation tree described above is an example data objectfamily where the family includes a base patent and patents andnon-patent data objects that are cited in or that are cited by the basepatent.

According to the invention, data object families are contexts fororganization, visualization, analysis, and other processing, asdescribed above.

The invention supports the creation, generation, visualization,manipulation, and other processing of data object families. Data objectfamilies may be system defined or user defined.

Data object families are further described in the following sections.

Examples of Data Object Families

A number of the data object families supported by the present inventionare described below. The invention is not limited to these examples.Additional data object families will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant arts based on the discussion contained herein.

FIG. 51 illustrates an example patent family chronology 5102, which is atype of a data object family. A patent family chronology 5102 includespatents, applications, and related data objects that stem from a basepatent application. In the example of FIG. 51, the patent familychronology 5102 stems from application 1, which represents the basepatent application. Application 1 spawned a continuation application(continuation 1), which spawned a continuation-in-part application (CIP1). A trademark (trademark 1) is related to continuation 1, and acopyright (copyright 1) is related to CIP 1. Application 1 was developedfrom a lab notebook maintained by an inventor (lab notebook 1).Application 1 also spawned a patent cooperative treaty application (PCT1), which was national filed in Japan (Japan 1) and Canada (Canada 1).

FIG. 53 illustrates an example assignee technology patent family 5302,which is another type of data object family. An assignee technologypatent family includes patents that are assigned to the same corporateentity, and that are technologically related. Relationships betweenpatents may reflect, for example, improvements to the technology.

In the example of FIG. 53, the assignee technology patent family 5302includes a bike patent 1, a bike patent 2, and a bike patent 3. Bikepatent 1 is the assignee's first and base patent on bikes. Bike patent 2is an improvement upon bike patent 1, and bike patent 3 is animprovement upon bike patent 2.

According to the invention, data object families are displayed using anywell known visualization technology, including but not limited tohyperbolic trees. Techniques for generating hyperbolic trees fromhierarchical organized data (such as data object families) is discussedin U.S. patent application “Using Hyperbolic Trees to Visualize DataGenerated by Patent-Centric and Group-Oriented Data Processing,” Ser.No. 08/921,369, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The data object families described above, as well as additional dataobject family examples supported by the present invention, are furtherdescribed below.

Patent Related Families

The invention supports a plurality of patent-specific families. Examplesof such families are described below.

Assignee Patent Family Chronology (APFC)

This family depicts the relationship between related issued patents andpending applications (and possibly related data objects) of the sameassignee. This includes, but is not limited to, U.S. and correspondingforeign applications. This includes the original application, divisions,continuations, CIPs, Reissues and Re-exams, Patent Extensions. Theinformation to create these families could be found, for example, in theassignee's internal patent docket system.

This family would be used for understanding any company's particularfamily relating to a group of patents and applications that stem fromthe same original application. Such a family would show in a tree-typeformat the relationship between, for example all the patents andapplications in a corporate entity's family. It helps a user see how acompany has clustered improvement patents around newly developedtechnology. It could be useful to product planning, product development,and the business and legal people in charge of managing the company'sportfolio.

Assignee Technology Patent Family (ATPF)

This family shows the relationship between patents and applications ofthe same assignee in the same area of technology but not necessarilylimited to an Assignee Patent Family Chronology. This family would be abroader grouping that would relate patents and applications of anassignee across an entire technology. The information to create thesefamilies could be found, for example, in the assignee's internal patentdocket systems and keyword searching on the assignee's patents andapplications.

Technology Patent Family (TPF)

This family shows the relationship between patents in the same area oftechnology. This family is not limited by assignee. The information tocreate these families could be found, for example, by a combination ofpatent bibliographic and patent text searching. This family would besomewhat like a forward citation tree but more limited based on theculling and grouping criteria used by the person creating the family.

Claim Trees

These families focus on the relationship between claims in terms ofdependency and dominance-subservience among claims.

Patent Claim Tree (PCT) and Application Claim Tree (ACT)

These trees show the relationship between claims in a single issuedpatent or a pending application. This tree is preferably created bysearching at least the first line of all claims in a given patent orapplication for an indication of dependency, and/or subject matter andscope. This is useful in patent prosecution, licensing and litigationscenarios in graphically representing the dependency relationship amongclaims in a given patent or application. Patent claim trees are furtherdescribed above.

Assignee Patent Family Chronology Claim Tree (APFCCT)

This tree shows the relationship between claims in an Assignee PatentFamily Chronology. This tree would show the independent-dependent claimrelationships within a given patent or application and dominant andsubservient or improvement claims in an Assignee Patent FamilyChronology. The information to create these trees could be found, forexample, in the assignee's internal patent docket systems and keywordsearching on the assignee's patent and application claim sets and theculling and grouping criteria used by the person creating the tree.

Assignee Technology Patent Family Claim Tree (ATPFCT)

This family shows the relationship between claims in an AssigneeTechnology Patent Family. This would be similar to the Assignee PatentFamily Chronology Claim Tree but would not be limited to a given PatentFamily Chronology. This family covers the Assignee's entire relatedtechnology base. This family shows the claim relationships of dependencyand dominant-subservient claims within an Assignee's Technology PatentFamily Chronology. The information to create these trees could be found,for example, in the assignee's internal patent docket systems andkeyword searching on the assignee's patent and application claim setsand the culling and grouping criteria used by the person creating thetree.

Technology Patent Family Claim Tree (TPFCT)

This family shows the relationship between claims in all patents in aTechnology Patent Family. This would be similar to the AssigneeTechnology Patent Family Claim Tree but would not be limited to a givenPatent Family Chronology but would cover the entire related technologybase for all assignees. The information to create these families couldbe found, for example, by a combination of patent bibliographic andpatent text searching and the culling and grouping criteria used by theperson creating the tree.

Patent-trademark Relationship Trees

These families are trees that include both patent claims and trademarksused on the patented products covered by the particular patent claims.They are created in a similar way that the Patent Families and Treeswould be created with the added dimension of including trademarks in thefamilies and trees that correspond to the patents covering products soldusing those trademarks.

Example Databases

Databases useful for implementing functions related to data objectfamilies are described in this section.

FIG. 48 illustrates a data object family table 4802 according to anembodiment of the present invention. Relationships between pairs of dataobjects are specified in the data object family table 4802. Morespecifically, the data object family table 4802 includes a record foreach pair of data objects of interest. Each record of the data objectfamily table 4802 includes a “from” field to identify a first dataobject, a “to” field to identify a second data object, and arelationship type field that stores information indicating therelationship between the two data objects.

FIGS. 50A and 50B illustrate an example relationship type table 5002that specifies relationship types supported by the invention. Therelationship types indicated in FIGS. 50A and 50B are provided forillustrative purposes, and are not limiting. In general, therelationship type table 5002 stores all relationships of interest to theuser. Additional relationships will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art(s).

Each row of the relationship type table 5002 includes a relationshiptype name, the unique identifier for the relationship, and a groupingID. The grouping ID is used to aggregate relationship types for a givendata object family. For example, grouping G1 generally corresponds to apatent family chronology. Grouping G3 generally corresponds to anassignee technology patent family.

The relationship type table 5002 includes relationships that arepredefined (system defined), and relationships that are user defined.Accordingly, the invention allows users to define and/or modifyrelationships based on the needs of their particular applications.Additionally, the groupings contained in the relationship type table5002 comprise both predefined groupings and user defined groupings.Accordingly, users can create and/or modify groupings based on theirspecific needs.

FIG. 49 illustrates an example data object family table 4902corresponding to the patent citation tree 4302 shown in FIG. 43. Thedata object family table 4902 represents an alternative implementationof the patent citation tree 4302. Rows 4904-4916 all correspond tobackward citation relationships, as indicated in the relationship typecolumn. Specifically, rows 4904, 4906, 4908, and 4910 of the data objectfamily table 4902 indicate that patent B, patent C, non-patent object C,and non-patent object D are referenced in patent A. Rows 4912 and 4914of the data object family table indicate that patent D and non-patentdata object A are referenced in patent B. Row 4916 of the data objectfamily table 4902 indicates that non-patent data object D is referencedin patent C.

Rows 4918-4930 of the data object family table 4902 correspond toforward citation relationships, as indicated in the relationship typecolumn. Specifically, row 4918 indicates that patent B is cited bypatent A. Row 4920 indicates that patent D is cited by patent B. Row4922 indicates that non-patent object A is cited by patent B. Row 4924indicates that patent C is cited by patent A. Row 4926 indicates thatnon-patent data object D is cited by patent C. Row 4928 indicates thatnon-patent data object C is cited by patent A. Row 4930 indicates thatnon-patent data object D is cited by patent A.

Use of the data object family table is further illustrated in FIGS. 51and 52. As discussed above, FIG. 51 illustrates an example patent familychronology 5102. FIG. 52 illustrates an example data object family table5202 that corresponds to the patent family chronology 5102. Row 5204 ofthe data object family table 5202 indicates that lab notebook 1represents invention disclosure materials used to generate application1. Row 5206 indicates that continuation 1 is a continuation ofapplication 1. Row 5208 indicates that CIP 1 is a continuation-in-partof continuation 1. Row 5210 indicates that copyright 1 is a copyrightthat is related to CIP 1. Row 5212 indicates that trademark 1 is atrademark that is related to continuation 1. Row 5214 indicates that PCT1 is a PCT application from application 1. Row 5216 indicates that Japan1 is a Japanese foreign national application from PCT 1. Row 5218indicates that Canada 1 is a Canadian foreign national application fromPCT 1.

In an embodiment, the patent family chronology 5102 of FIG. 51 ispreferably generated by selecting grouping G1 from the relationship typetable 5002. A data object family is then generated that includes therelationships within grouping G1. Further details regarding thegeneration of data object families is provided below.

Another example of the use of the data object family table is presentedin FIGS. 53 and 54. As indicated above, FIG. 53 illustrates an exampleassignee technology patent family 5302. FIG. 54 illustrates a dataobject family table 5402 that corresponds to the assignee technologypatent family 5302.

Row 5404 of the data object family table 5402 indicates that bike patent2 is an improvement of bike patent 1. Row 5408 indicates that bikepatent 3 is an improvement of bike patent 2. Additional information iscontained in the data object family table 5402. For example, row 5406indicates that bike patent 1 is technically related to bike patent 2,and is a base patent. Row 5410 indicates that the claims of bike patent2 are subservient to the claims of bike patent 1. Row 5412 indicatesthat the claims of bike patent 2 are an improvement of the claims ofbike patent 1. Row 5414 indicates that the claims of bike patent 1 aredominant over the claims of bike patent 2. Rows 5410-5414 are useful forgenerating an assignee patent family chronology claim tree, describedabove.

Operational Description

FIG. 55 illustrates a flowchart 5502 that represents the operation ofthe invention when generating data object family tables. Depending onthe particular relationships of interest, the sources of relationshipdata, the extent of the families of interest, and other applicationdependent factors, the data object family tables may be manuallygenerated, automatically generated, or combinations thereof

In step 5506, relationship information is obtained. Preferably,relationship information is obtained in a pair wise fashion. In otherwords, pairs of data objects that are somehow related are firstidentified. Then, the relationships between the data object pairs aredetermined. Alternatively, relationship information is obtained and thenconverted into a pair wise format.

There are a variety of sources of relationship information. Some ofthese sources applicable with the present invention are illustrated inFIG. 56. It is noted that the invention is not limited by the sourcesdepicted in FIG. 56. Relationship information may be available andobtained from other sources, including but not limited to data sourcesidentified and/or provided by users.

One source of relationship information is data having referentialintegrity, as indicated by 5604. Referential integrity refers toinformation that directly indicates a relationship between data objects.For example, the information in the patent ref table 4402 of FIG. 44 hasreferential integrity because the information contained therein directlyestablishes citation relationships between patents. Similarly, thenon-patent ref table 4404 in FIG. 45 has referential integrity becausethe information contained therein directly establishes citationrelationships between patents and non-patent data objects.

Referring to FIG. 56, relationship information can also be obtained fromrelational database tables 5606. By definition, relational databasesrelate data objects to one another. Accordingly, the relationshiprepresented in relational databases can be used to generate relationshiptables and data object family tables.

Relationship information can also be obtained by searching databasetables, as indicated by 5608 in FIG. 56. Such operations may include,for example, searching a “corporate entity” column of a database tablefor all occurrences of the name “Aurigin,” to thereby identify all dataobjects that relate to the company Aurigin. This might result inidentifying all patents that are assigned to Aurigin. This informationis useful for generating patent family chronologies, for example.

Relationship information can also be obtained by performing textsearches among data objects. Such operations may involve, for example,searching the text of documents for the word “microprocessor” to therebyidentify data objects that potentially relate to the microprocessorfield. This information is useful for generating technology patentfamilies, for example. Searches could include more complex Boolean,proximity, natural language, and any types of linguistic analysis.

Additional relationship information may be obtained by performing manualacquisition and analysis of data, as indicated by 5612 in FIG. 56. Suchoperations may involve, for example, manually reviewing the claims of acollection of patents to determine those that are technically related,dominant and subservient relationships, base relationships,improvements, etc.

Further relationship information can be obtained by combinations of thetechniques illustrated in FIG. 56.

Upon completing step 5506, data object pairs having some relationship ofinterest have been identified, and the relationships between such dataobject pairs have been determined. In step 5508, data object familytables are populated using the relationship information obtained in step5506. For example, suppose that in the course of performing step 5506 itwas determined that a particular Japanese application, called Japan 1,was filed from a particular PCT application, called PCT 1. In this case,a row in a data object family table corresponding to this pair wiserelationship is created in step 5506. Such a row is shown, for example,as 5216 in FIG. 52.

Upon completing step 5508, one or more data object family tables havebeen created.

FIG. 57A illustrates a flowchart 5702 for analyzing relationshipinformation according to embodiments of the invention. For illustrativepurposes, and without limitation, flowchart 5702 is described withreference to the example patent family chronology 5102 shown in FIG. 51,and the corresponding, data object family table 5202 shown in FIG. 52.

In step 5706, the user selects one or more data objects. The selecteddata objects represent the base data objects upon which the analysis isperformed. In the example of FIG. 51, the user selects application 1,which is the base patent application for the patent family chronology5102.

In step 5708, the user selects one ore more relationship types uponwhich the analysis is formed. In an embodiment, the user manuallyselects the relationship types of interest. In other embodiments, theuser selects one or more grouping that contain the relationship types ofinterest. In the example of FIG. 51, the user selects grouping G1 (seeFIGS. 50A and 50B), which contains all of the relationship types ofinterest for the patent family chronology (it is noted that grouping G1can be modified as desired by the user to perform a custom patent familychronology analysis).

In step 5710, the user indicates whether complete or partial closure isrequired. If the user selects complete closure, then all relationshipsstemming from the data objects selected in step 5706 are identified. Ifthe user selects partial closure, then only a portion of therelationships stemming from the selected data objects are identified(for example, perhaps only relationships moving forward or movingbackward from the selected data objects are identified). Also in step5710, if the user selects partial closure, then the user may be requiredto provide information regarding the scope of the desired analysis.

In step 5712, closure based on the selected data objects, the selectedrelationship types, and the scope of closure is computed. In otherwords, all relationships from the data object family tables that satisfythe information and commands provided in steps 5706, 5708, and 5710 areidentified.

Preferably, step 5712 is performed as shown in the flowchart of FIG.57B.

In step 5718, rows in the data object family tables that match theselected data objects and the selected relationship types areidentified. A row matches a selected data object if either the “from”field or the “to” field of the row contains the selected data object. Arow matches a selected relationship type if the relationship type fieldof the row contains one of the selected relationship types.

Step 5720 is optionally performed depending on the level of closurespecified in step 5710. In step 5720, additional rows in the data objectfamily tables that match data objects specified in rows identified instep 5718, and that also match one or more of the selected relationshiptypes are identified. For example, in the data object table 5202 of FIG.52, row 5206 is identified in step 5718 because application 1 (the dataobject selected in step 5706) is contained in the “from” field. Notethat continuation 1 is contained in the “to” field. In step 5720, rowsin the data object family tables that match continuation 1, and thatalso match one or more of the selected relationship types areidentified. Thus, row 5212 is identified because continuation 1 from row5206 is contained in the “from” field, and also the trademarkrelationship (which is part of selected group G1) is contained in therelationship type field.

Steps 5718 and 5720 are repeatedly performed until the level of closurespecified in step 5710 is satisfied, as indicated by control flow line5721.

Upon the completion of steps 5718 and 5720, data object pairs havingrelationships of interest have been identified. Also, the relationshipsbetween such data object pairs are identified. In step 5722, a tree ofthe data object pairs is generated. Preferably, the tree is generated byselecting a data object pair, adding the selected data object pair andits associate relationship to the tree, and then selecting a new dataobject pair. The process continues until each data object pair has beenadded to the tree.

For example, assume that steps 5718 and 5720 identified rows 5204-5218in FIG. 52. In step 5722, the tree or graph is generated from rows5204-5218. For example, processing of row 5204 results in creating nodes5106 and 5108 and link 5104 in the tree (see FIG. 51). Processing of row5206 results in adding node 5110 and link 5112 to the tree (FIG. 51).The other identified rows 5208-5218 are processed in a similar manner instep 5722.

Referring again to FIG. 57A, in step. 5714, the data object family isdisplayed. According to the invention, the tree generated in step 5722(FIG. 57B) may be displayed using any visualization technology,including hyperbolic trees. Techniques for generating hyperbolic treesare discussed in U.S. patent application “Using Hyperbolic Trees toVisualize Data Generated by Patent-Centric and Group-Oriented DataProcessing,” Ser. No. 08/921,369, incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

Plug-In Architecture

According to the invention, the enterprise server 7604 (FIG. 76) caninterface with third party tools to enhance and extend itsfunctionality. As used herein, the phrase “third party tools” refers toany hardware, software, or combination thereof that is external to theenterprise server 7604 or any of its component or associated modules,such as the web server 7610, the databases 7612 and 7614, the networkclient 7608, and the web client 7606. The third party tools are selectedand integrated with the enterprise server 7604 on the basis of theirability to perform desired functionality not available internally (i.e.,not performed by the enterprise server 7604 or any of its components orassociated modules). Such functionality can pertain to data acquisitionor storage, visualization, display, processing, and/or any other dataprocessing.

FIG. 59 illustrates a flowchart 5902 representing illustrative operationof the enterprise server 7604 when interacting with a third partycomponent.

In step 5906, a user begins analyzing a collection of data objects. Thedata objects may be, for example, from one or more groups, and/or one ormore data object types. Alternatively, the data objects may haveresulted at least in part from processing performed by the enterpriseserver 7604, such as from conducting database searches.

In step 5908, the user analyzes the data objects using functionsprovided by the enterprise server 7604. Such functions are describedabove. Additional functions are described in U.S. patent applications“System, Method, and Computer Program Product for Patent-Centric andGroup-Oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No. 08/867,392, “Using HyperbolicTrees to Visualize Data Generated by Patent-Centric and Group-OrientedData Processing,” Ser. No. 08/921,369, “System, Method and ComputerProgram Product for Managing and Analyzing Intellectual Property (IP)Related Transactions,” Ser. No.09/138,368, incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

In step 5910, the user wishes to run one or more reports based on theanalysis performed in step 5908. Some of the reports may be generatedusing functions provided by the enterprise server 7604. Such reportingfunctions of the enterprise server 7604 are described herein, and arefurther described in the patent applications referenced above. Otherreports may be generated using third party components that interfacewith the enterprise server 7604.

In step 5912, the user wishes to further analyze the data objects usingfunctions provided by third party components that interface with theenterprise server 7604. Information pertaining to the data objects aresent to the third party components, along with commands, options, andother information needed to allow the third party components to performthe analysis requested by the user. The third party components performthe requested functions using the information received from theenterprise server 7604.

In step 5914, the user instructs the third party components to send theresults of their respective processing back to the enterprise server7604. Such results may be stored and utilized as a new group or dataobject type in the enterprise server, for example. Such results couldalso be processed alone or with other data, and/or could be stored asdata in fields of data records and/or reports.

FIG. 64 is a flowchart 6402 further depicting the operation of theenterprise server 7604 when interacting with a third party componentaccording to an example embodiment. FIG. 63 is an example data flowdiagram used to explain the operation of the flowchart 6402 in FIG. 64.

In step 6406, the user wishes to analyze a group 6304 containing onethousand documents or other data objects. The documents include bothpatents and non-patent documents. The documents relate to computerprogramming languages.

The user in step 6406 selects a third party component to organize andvisualize the content of the documents. The display generated by theselected third party component is shown as 6306 in FIG. 63. In display6306, documents that are similar in content are represented as peaks ina landscape. The relative size of the peaks correspond to the number ofdocuments that are directed to the subject matter associated with thepeaks. Preferably, operation of the third party component is dynamic,such that the context of the landscape is dynamic. For example, thedisplay 6306 shown in the example of FIG. 63 is based on the subjectmatter or topic of the documents in the group 6304. Preferably, the usercan access a menu 6308 which allows the user to change the context ofthe display from topical to another attribute, such as author. If theuser changes the context to author, then the peaks in the display 6306would correspond to author, and the relative size of the peaks wouldindicate the number of documents that were by respective authors.

In step 6408, the user selects a subset of the 1,000 documents via useof the third party component. In the example of FIG. 63, the user hasselected from the display 6306 the peaks corresponding to PASCAL andCOBAL. This selection is indicated by 6307.

In step 6410, the user instructs the third party component to send theresults of the analysis back to the enterprise server 7604. In theexample of FIG. 63, the third party component sends back an indicationof the selection 6307. For example, the third party component may sendback a list of the documents corresponding to the selection 6307 (thatis, a list of the books directed to PASCAL and COBAL).

In step 6412, the enterprise server 7604 creates a new group from theinformation received from the third party component. In this case, thenew group contains the documents corresponding to the selection 6307that pertain to PASCAL and COBAL.

In step 6414, the enterprise server generates and saves a search querycorresponding to the analysis performed by the user using the thirdparty component. In example of FIG. 63, the search query generated andsaved by the enterprise server 7604 comprises a search for documentspertaining to PASCAL and COBAL. The search query is generated and savedso that it can be referred to and used in the future by the user.

The new group 6310 can then be used in the enterprise server 7604 justlike any other group. Specifically, processing can be performed on thedocuments in the new group 6310 as described above, and as furtherdescribed in U.S. patent applications “System, Method, and ComputerProgram Product for Patent-Centric and Group-Oriented Data Processing,”Ser. No. 08/867,392, “Using Hyperbolic Trees to Visualize Data Generatedby Patent-Centric and Group-Oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No.08/921,369, “System, Method and Computer Program Product for Managingand Analyzing Intellectual Property (IP) Related Transactions,” Ser. No.09/138,368, herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

The examples discussed above illustrate the round trip functionality ofthe present invention. Specifically, the invention allows information tobe transferred from the enterprise server 7604 to third partycomponents. Also, the invention enables the transfer of information fromthird party components to the enterprise server 7604. In certaininstances, depending on the functionality desired and the third partycomponent being used, only one way interaction is involved. For example,often when working with a report generator, data flows only from theenterprise server 7604 to the report generator. Such data is sent to thereport generator to enable the report generator to create a desiredreport. With some report generators, data does not flow back from thereport generator to the enterprise server 7604 (although, with somereport generators, data may flow back to the enterprise server 7604. Forexample, the report generator may send an electronic copy of the reportback to the enterprise server 7604).

Plug-In Architecture

FIG. 58 is a block diagram 5802 of the enterprise server 7604 wheninteracting with third party components/tools 5808. As indicated in FIG.58, the enterprise server 7604 interacts with third partycomponents/tools 5808 via an interface 5806.

FIG. 60 illustrates a more detailed block diagram of the enterpriseserver 7604 when interacting with third party components/tools 5808.

The enterprise server 7604 includes an enterprise server API(application programming interface) 6004. Generally, the enterpriseserver API 6004 includes a collection of commands that the enterpriseserver 7604 understands. These commands instruct the enterprise server7604 to perform specific functions. An entity external to the enterpriseserver 7604 interacts with the enterprise server 7604 by sendingcommands that conform to the enterprise server API 6004 to theenterprise server 7604. The enterprise server API 6004 is furtherdescribed below. The enterprise server API 6004 is additionallydescribed in U.S. patent application U.S. Patent Application “System,Method, and Computer Program Product for Patent-Centric andGroup-Oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No. 08/867,392, incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

The interface 5806 is preferably represented by a plug-in manager 6006.The plug-in manager 6006 includes a plug-in manager API 6008. Theplug-in manager API includes commands which the plug-in manager 6006understands. These commands instruct the plug-in manager 6006 to performspecific functions. Entities external to the plug-in manager 6006interact with the plug-in manager 6006 by sending commands that conformto the plug-in manager API 6008 to the plug-in manager 6006.

The third party components/tools 5808 are represented by plug-ins 6012and third party components/tools 6024. The third party components/tools6024 represent any hardware, software, or combination thereof thatperforms desired functionality. The third party components/tools 6024each includes an API. Devices external to the third partycomponents/tools 6024 interact with the third party components/tools6024 via their respective APIs.

Preferably, a plug-in 6012 exists for each third party component/tool6024. Alternatively, one or more third party components/tools 6024 mayshare a common plug-in 6012.

Generally, the plug-ins 6012 represent translation modules. Messagessent from the plug-in manager 6006 to a third party component/tool 6024is translated from a format native to the plug-in manager 6006 to aformat recognized by the API of the third party component/tool 6024.Similarly, a message that is send from a third party component/tool 6024to the plug-in manager 6006 is translated by the plug-in 6012 from thenative language of the third party component/tool 6024 to commandsand/or messages that conform to the plug-in manager API 6008.

As indicated in FIG. 60, the enterprise server 7604, the plug-in manager6006, the plug-ins 6012, and the third party component/tools 6024interact with a database 6010, which may include, for example, the IPAMdatabases 7614.

The process of translating between the plug-in manager API 6008 and theAPI of any given third party component/tool 6024 will be apparent topersons skilled in the art based on the discussion of the plug-inmanager API 6008 contained herein, and knowledge of the well known APIof the third party component/tool 6024. Additionally, interaction with athird party component/tool 6024 via its API will be apparent to personsskilled in the relevant arts.

The plug-in architecture described herein is applicable to both theserver and the client. In embodiments of the invention, the clientplug-in architecture works in a manner substantially similar to theserver plug-in architecture, a difference being in the type and kind ofAPIs supported/required by the client and the manner in which the clientdetects that plug-ins are present. Implementation of the server andclient plug-in architectures will be apparent to persons skilled in therelevant art(s) based on the discussion contained herein.

Plug-In Operation

FIGS. 62A and 62B collectively illustrate a flowchart 6202 representingthe operation of the plug-in manager 6006 when interacting with a thirdparty component 6024 according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG.61 illustrates an example event trace diagram corresponding to theflowchart of FIG. 62A and 62B.

In step 6206, the enterprise server 7604 creates an instance of theplug-in manager 6006. This is indicated as 6120 in FIG. 61.

In step 6208, the plug-in manager determines which plug-ins 6012, ifany, are available. This is indicated as 6122 in FIG. 61. As notedabove, each plug-in preferably corresponds to a third party component6024, and understands the API, the information requirements, theoptions, etc., of the corresponding third party component 6024 (i.e.,how to interact with the third party component).

In step 6210, the enterprise server receives from the plug-in manager6006 a list of the available plug-ins 6012. This is indicated as 6122 inFIG. 61. This list indicates which third party components 6024 areavailable for use by the user.

In step 6212, the user pops up a plug-in menu 6104. The menu 6104 listsall plug-ins 6012 that are available based on the list obtained in step6210. Further in step 6212, the user selects a plug-in from the plug-inmenu 6104.

In step 6214, the enterprise server 7604 instructs the plug-in manager6006 to run the selected plug-in. This is indicated by 6124 in FIG. 61.

In step 6218, the plug-in manager 6006 instructs the selected plug-in6012 to run. This is indicated by 6128 in FIG. 61.

In step 6220, the plug-in 6012, possibly with the assistance of theplug-in manager 6006, displays an options dialog or a series of dialogsto the user. The dialogs specify the functions that can be performed bythe corresponding third party component 6024. Preferably, at least allfunctions that are accessible through the third party component's APIare listed in the dialogs. In other words, interaction between theenterprise server 7604 and the third party component 6024 includes atleast the functions and capabilities represented in the API of the thirdparty component 6024. The user selects desired options via the displayedoptions dialog. This interaction is represented by 6130 in FIG. 61.

In step 6222, the plug-in 6012 makes requests for data from the plug-inmanager 6006. This is represented by 6138 in FIG. 61. In response tosuch requests, the plug-in manager 6006 may make calls to the enterpriseserver 7604 (represented by 6134 in FIG. 61), or may directly access thedatabases 6010 (this is represented by 6136 in FIG. 61).

In step 6224, the plug-in 6012 creates an instance of the associatedthird party component 6024. This instance is a software representationof the third party component. For example, if the third party componentis a report generator, then in step 6224 the plug-in invokes the reportgenerator. This is represented by 6140 in FIG. 61.

In step 6226, the plug-in transfers data to the third party component6024. The plug-in performs any necessary data transformations.Additionally, the plug-in 6012 sends commands and options (from step6220) to the third party component 6024, or alternatively controls thethird party component 6024 based on the commands and options from step6220. Preferably, the plug-in 6012 interacts with the third partycomponent 6024 in this manner using the API of the third party component6024. This operation of step 6226 is represented by 6142 in FIG. 61.

Also in step 6226, the user performs any real time interaction with thethird party component 6024 via the plug-in manager 6006 and the plug-in6012. An example of such interaction was described above with referenceto FIGS. 63 and 64.

In step 6228, the user instructs the third party component 6024 toexport the results of any processing performed by the third partycomponent 6024. This is represented by 6144 in FIG. 61.

In step 6230, in response to the export command, the third partycomponent 6024 transmits data to the enterprise server 7604 via theplug-in 6012 and the plug-in manager.6006. The plug-in 6012 and/or theplug-in manager 6006 perform any necessary data transformations. Theenterprise server 7604 receives and processes the information asdescribed above.

Interaction with third party components shall now be considered ingreater detail.

Embodiments of the invention support a number of methods for integrationwith third party components. Two such integration methods are called“loose integration” and “tight integration.” These are described below.

Loose Integration

With loose integration, interaction is via an intermediary, such asfiles. To export data from application 1 (such as IPAM) to application 2(such as a third party tool), application 1 or an entity working onbehalf of application 1 stores the data in a file (preferably in aformat understandable by application 2; otherwise, data translations maybe performed). The file is then read by application 2, or an entityworking on behalf of application 2.

To import data to application 1, application 2 or an entity working onbehalf of application 2 saves data in a file. The file is then read byapplication 1, or some entity working on behalf of application 1 (somedata translation may be necessary). In embodiments of the invention,these write and read operations are manually initiated. That is, theuser has to manually initiate the exportation and importation of data.

Generally, it is possible to utilize off-the-shelf versions of a thirdparty component when loose integration is used.

Tight Integration

With tight integration, IPAM and a third party component interact witheach other via the plug-in architecture described herein. Data is sentfrom IPAM to a third party component via the plug-in mechanism, and visaversa.

In an embodiment, IPAM (via the plug-in mechanism) sends a list ofpointers to the third party component. The pointers point to data (i.e.,data objects). In this manner, IPAM sends data to third partycomponents. This same process is also used to send data from third partycomponents to IPAM (via the plug-in mechanism). Alternatively, IPAMcould send data to a third party component by storing the data in afile, and then sending a message to the third party component (via theplug-in mechanism) with the name of the file. This process could also beused to send data from third party components to IPAM. Alternatively,IPAM could send data to a third -party component by sending messages(containing the data) via the plug-in mechanism to the third partycomponents. This process could also be used to send data from thirdparty components to IPAM.

Tight integration is a more automated process. The user need notexplicitly store data in files, or manually initiate read and/or writeoperations. Instead, the user need only issue import or export commands.An example of the user issuing an export command is shown, for example,in FIG. 90. In the example of FIG. 90, the user is exporting the dataobjects in a group “adewolfe” to Microsoft Excel. The menu 9002 shown inFIG. 90 also illustrates other commands 9004 to import and export.

In order to perform tight integration, it is necessary that the API ofthe third party component include sufficient functionality to supportthe interactions described above. Alternatively, tight integration canbe achieved using a version of a third party component that has beenmodified to support the interactions described above.

Query Creation and Retention

According to the invention, upon receipt of information from a thirdparty component, the enterprise server 7604 creates a search query thatcorresponds to the analysis/processing performed by the user using thethird party component. In an embodiment, the enterprise server 7604generates the query by comparing the information sent to the third partycomponent with the information received from the third party component.

Consider the example of FIG. 63, where 1000 documents pertaining tocomputer programming languages were sent to the third party component,and a subset of these documents pertaining to Pascal and Cobol werereturned to the enterprise server 7604. According to an embodiment, theenterprise server 7604 compares what was sent with what was received togenerate a search query limited to Pascal and Cobol.

In other embodiments, the third party component returns statusinformation that the enterprise server 7604 uses to generate the searchquery. In other embodiments, the third party component returns thesearch query.

The query is saved for later reference and use by the user.

Plug-in Manager Application Program Interfaces (APIs)

The Plug-in Manager is preferably an ActiveX component that supports theaddition of “plug-ins” (also preferably ActiveX components) that supportinteraction with third-party components. As noted above, plug-ins areused to export data to and import data from third-party visualizationcomponents (such as but not limited to Microsoft Excel, CartiaThemeScape, and SpotFire).

The Plug-in Manager defines several APIs, described below, for use byvarious parts of the Plug-in facility. The Plug-in Manager also providesa local database, which provides “linked tables” (proxies) to tables inthe IPAM SQL Server database.

When the IPAM is started, the IPAM queries the Plug-in manager foravailable Plug-ins, preferably creating a pull-right menu listing theirnames. (If no Plug-ins are available, the menu is not created, andaccess to Plug-ins is disabled in the IPAM.) In one embodiment, a userselects an IPAM group, then uses the Plug-in menu to cause the Plug-inManager to invoke a specific Plug-in. Preferred protocols by which thishappens are described below.

Additional APIs applicable with the invention are described in “System,Method, and Computer Program Product for Patent-Centric andGroup-Oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No. 07/867,392, filed Jun. 2,1997, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.Implementation of the APIs and commands described below will be apparentto persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachingscontained herein.

It should be understood that the following APIs and commands areprovided for illustrative purposes only, and are not limiting. Any otherAPIs or commands that achieve the functions and requirements describedherein can also be used, as will be apparent to persons skilled in therelevant art(s) based on the herein teachings.

API: IPAM to Plug-in Manager

The Plug-in Manager exposes an API to the IPAM. This API allows the IPAMto obtain the number and names of available Plug-ins, and to invokethose Plug-ins, but preferably shields the IPAM from Plug-in-specificdetails.

In an example embodiment, plug-ins advertise their availability by wayof a Windows Registry subkey under the key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Aurigin Systems, Inc.\AuriginClient\Plug-ins\

The name of the subkey is the OLE class name of the Plug-in (e.g.,Aurigin. ExcelPlug-in).

If the default value of the subkey is “0”, then the Plug-in isconsidered to be unavailable. Any other value indicates that the Plug-inis available. In other embodiments, the Plug-in Manager mayautomatically mark a Plug-in as being unavailable under certaincircumstances. (For example, if a Plug-in fails some set number of timesin succession).

The “Name” value of the subkey holds the name of the Plug-in, as it isto appear in IPAM menus.

The “Description” value of the subkey holds a string that providesadditional information about the Plug-in. For example, to be used as atooltip.

Various example commands/functions are described below.

Plug-inCount( ) As Integer

Returns the number of available Plug-ins.

The Plug-inManager queries the Registry to identify available Plug-ins,as described above.

Plug-in Name(Index As Integer)

Returns the name of the index'th Plug-in, where 0<=index<Plug-inCount().

Plug-inDescription(Index As Integer) As String

Returns the description of the index'th Plug-in, where0<index<Plug-inCount( ).

SetGroup(Name, id As Sting)

Sets the name and database id of the group that will be the source ofdata for a Plug-in.

As a side-effect, the list of subgroups and the list of documents iscleared.

AddDocument(Name, id As String)

Adds the name and id of a document to the list of documents in thegroup. After the IPAM invokes SetGroup( ), the IPAM is required toinvoke AddDocument( ) once for each document in the group.

SetAttribute(Name, Value As String)

Sets or resets a dictionary entry for “name” to be “value”. Thedictionary can be queried by a Plug-in using protocol described furtherbelow. The IPAM is required to set the following attributes

-   -   UserId the ID of the logged-in user    -   IPAMServer the name and port number of the IPAM server (e.g.,        “Romulus:8080”)    -   SQLServer the name of the server on which SQL Server is running

RunPlug-in(Integer Index)

Run the index'th Plug-in, where 0<=index<Plug-inCount( ).

The Plug-in manager creates an instance of the ActiveX component for thePlug-in, and invokes it using the “Plug-in Manager to Plug-in” API,described below.

If the Plug-in “fails” (where conditions constituting failure aredefined by the specific Plug-in), the Plug-in will raise an OLEexception. If no exception is raised, the Plug-in is assumed to havesucceeded.

API: Plug-in Manager to Plug-in

Each Plug-in preferably implements this API, through which the Plug-inManager invokes (runs) the Plug-in.

Various example commands/functions are described below.

Run(Object Manager)

Run the Plug-in. The “manager” object is a reference to the instance ofthe Plug-in Manager ActiveX component. The Plug-in uses the “Plug-in toPlug-in Manager” API, described below, to communicate with the Plug-inmanager.

When run, a Plug-in preferably will do one or more of:

-   -   present a dialog to the user listing Plug-in-specific options    -   query the Plug-in Manager for the selected group and its        documents    -   direct the Plug-in Manager to perform citation traces for        documents    -   query a local database for additional information about        documents    -   invoke a third-party API to communicate with a third-party        application or component (e.g., Microsoft Excel, Cartia        ThemePublisher, SpotFire, Insight Hyperbolic Tree)    -   insert new data into a local database    -   invoke the IPAM “Plug-in to IPAM” API to create new groups of        documents    -   present one or more status of informational dialogs to the user

If the Plug-in encounters an error, it communicates details back to thePlug-in Manager by raising an OLE exception, passing a description ofthe error in the exception.

API: Plug-in to Plug-in Manager

The Plug-in Manager implements this API for use by Plug-ins.

Various example commands/functions are described below.

GetAttribute(Name As String) As String

Get the value of an attribute, as set by SetAttribute( ). The Plug-inuses this function as necessary to obtain the id of the logged-in user,the name of the server name and port number of the IPAM server, etc.

Raises an exception if the name is unknown.

UnrollGroups(depth As Integer)

IPAM Groups form a hierarchy. UnrollGroup populates the bds_groups tablein the local database with a trace of the group hierarchy from thesource group for the given depth. (A depth of 0 means the source grouponly, 1 means to include the source group and one level of subgroups,and so on.)

The Plug-in then gains access through the GetDB( ) function, describedbelow, and can issue SQL queries that join against the bds_groups table.

GroupCount( ) As Integer

Returns the number of source groups. In an embodiment, this alwaysreturns 1.

GetGroups(Name( ) As String, String id( ) As String)

Gets the names and ids of groups.

The Plug-in is responsible for sizing the name and id arrays toaccommodate GroupCount( ) groups.

DocumentCount( ) As Integer

Returns the number of documents in the source group(s).

GetDocuments(name( ) As String, id( ) As String)

Gets the (long display) names and ids of documents in the sourcegroup(s).

The Plug-in is responsible for sizing the name and id arrays toaccommodate DocumentCount( ) documents.

TraceCitations(Forward As Boolean, Depth As Integer)

Directs the Plug-in manager to trace citations for the source documents,writing the results into the bds_citations' table in the local database.Citations are traced either forward or backward, and to a given depth.

The Plug-in then gains access to the local database via GetDB( ), asdescribed below, and can issue SQL queries that join against thebds_citations table.

GetDB( ) As Database

Return an ActiveX object that provides access to the local database.“Database” is an OLE Object type provided by Microsoft. It provides anAPI for interacting with JET databases. The database object has an APIthat supports SQL queries.

Through the local database, the Plug-in gains access to tables in theIPAM database, and optionally to third-party or customer-specifictables, allowing information to be merged for presentation.

API: Plug-in to IPAM

The IPAM exposes an API for creating new groups.

Various example commands/functions are described below.

CreateGroupFromGUIDs(Name, Description As String, Guid( ) As String)

Create a new group with the given name and description, populating itwith documents.

Preferably, use of this API requires that:

1. a user be logged in to the IPAM

2. a group is selected in the group pane

3. the user has permission to create a new subgroup within the selectedgroup

If the guid( ) array contains ids that are not recognized, those ids arewritten to a log file.

Example Third Party Components

The enterprise server 7604 can interact with any third party componenthaving functionality and capabilities of interest. As indicated above,the enterprise server 7604 interacts with a given third party component6024 via the API of the third party component 6024. Alternatively, theenterprise server 7604 interacts with a third party component 6024 via acustom interface to the third party component 6024.

For illustrative purposes, and without limitation, example third partycomponents 6024 are described below. It should be understood that thepresent invention is not limited to working with these third partycomponents. The following discussion is provided solely to illustrateexample operation of the enterprise server 7604 with third partycomponents 6024, and is not limiting.

Graph-Based Visualization Tools

FIG. 67 illustrates an example display where data is represented in agraph. The example of FIG. 67 depicts a two-dimensional graph, butgraphs of dimensions greater than two are within the scope and spirit ofthe invention.

In the example display 6702 of FIG. 67, each icon in the graph 6708represents one or more patents. In an embodiment, information pertainingto a patent (such a bibliographic information, text information, imageinformation, etc.) can be retrieved and displayed by selecting the iconassociated with the patent.

The X-axis of the graph represents the issue date, and the Y-axis of thegraph represents the filing date. The patent icons are positioned on thegraph 6708 depending on their particular filing dates and issue dates.The display can be dynamically adjusted by selecting other criteria forthe X-axis via a drop down menu 6710. Similarly, the display can bedynamically adjusted by selecting other criteria for the Y-axis via adrop down menu 6712.

The data represented in the graph 6708 can be filtered by selecting fromattributes 6706. In example of FIG. 67, for example, the patentsrepresented in the graph 6708 are limited to art units 111 through 358,and remaining pendency of 42 weeks to 961 weeks.

A variety of graph based visualization tools operable with the presentinvention are publicly available. For example, and without limitation,SPOTFIRE PRO is a commercial product available from SPOTFIRE, Boston,Mass. SPOTFIRE PRO enables the display of data in graphical form asshown in FIG. 67.

Landscape-based Visualization Tools

FIG. 65 illustrates an example display 6502 wherein data is representedin a landscape or map. Peaks in the landscape correspond to data objectsthat have been aggregated according to user selected criteria. In theexample of FIG. 65, the peaks correspond to claims from one or morepatents that are directed to similar subject matter. For example,reference number 6508 identifies a peak that represents an aggregationof claims from one or more patents that are directed or related to“policy”. The relative heights/size of the peaks indicate the number ofclaims corresponding to the respective subject matters of the peaks.

The display can be dynamically adjusted by selecting attributes from amenu 6510. For example, if the “assignee” attribute is selected, thenthe landscape would be adjusted so that the peaks would represent thenumber of patents assigned to corporate entities.

Information in the display can be limited by using filters from a filtermenu 6512. For example, if an “assignee” attribute is selected, and“Aurigin” is entered in a pop-up dialog, then the landscape would beadjusted to only display patents assigned to “Aurigin.”

According to the example shown in FIG. 65, when the cursor 6504 ispositioned proximate to or above a peak, the text of a claim thatcorresponds to the peak is partially or fully displayed. This isillustrated by window 6506.

FIG. 66 illustrates a similar display 6604 that represents patentrelated data using a landscape approach.

FIG. 63, described above, is directed to another display 6306 whereininformation is visualized using a landscape approach.

As described above, and further illustrated in FIG. 88, information fromIPAM 8806 can be exported to the landscape tool 8808. This isrepresented by data flow line 8802. The exported information isrepresented as a map 8810. The user can manipulate the map to selectgroups of data objects, which can then be imported to IPAM 8806. This isrepresented by data flow lines 8804. The imported data can be used toform new groups, as shown in FIG. 88.

An example product that utilizes a landscape approach to visualize datais THEMESCAPE from CARTIA, INC., Bellevue, Washington. FIG. 68illustrates an event diagram 6802 representing the interaction betweenthe enterprise server 7604, the enterprise client 7606 or 7612, and thethird party THEMESCAPE product 6807 according to an embodiment of theinvention. The invention is not limited to this example implementation.

Interaction with Cartia ThemeScape will be further illustrated byreference to an example scenario shown in FIGS. 91-98. This also furtherillustrates the round-trip capabilities of the invention.

First, an IPAM group is selected, and this is sent to Cartia ThemeScape.See FIG. 91.

Second, available options are chosen in the Cartia Plugin dialog (seeFIG. 92). The dialog allows you to change the name of the map (the nameof the IPAM Group is the default map name). The dialog also allows youto specify what portions of the patent documents in the group to use tobuild the map. Dialogs vary among third party tools.

Third, a notification is provided indicating that Cartia has beginprocessing the map. See FIG. 93.

Fourth, progress is indicated in the ThemePublisher's Map Managerdialog. See FIG. 94. When it has built the map, the status line will say“Processing Complete”, or will indicate why the map could not be built.

Fifth, the map is displayed. See FIG. 95. The user uses ThemePublisher'stools to select a portion of the map.

Sixth, with a portion of the map selected, the ThemePublisher DocumentViewer appears. See FIG. 96. The user clicks the Export button to exportthe data objects corresponding to the selected map portion to IPAM.

Seventh, an Export dialog is presented. See FIG. 96. In the example ofFIG. 96, the “Aurigin IPAM Group” option is selected, and then the userclicks OK. In some embodiments, Cartia ThemePublisher displays a dialogthat asks, “What should the Aurigin IPAM group be named?” with a fieldfor the user to enter a name. It will contain a default value such asthe map name.

Eighth, a new group is created as the child of whatever group isselected.

This example has been provided for purposes of illustration, notlimitation. The example is applicable to other third party tools.Accordingly, given the herein teachings, persons skilled in the relevantart(s) could integrate other third party tools with IPAM. The inventionis directed to such other combinations.

Data Object Searching Tools

The invention is operable with third party tools for identifyingcollections of data objects. Such data objects can be imported into IPAMfor processing. For example, one or more new groups may be formed fromthe imported data objects.

For example, FIG. 89 illustrates a chemical search engine 8904. (Thechemical search engine 8904 is herein described for illustrativepurposes only. The invention is not limited to this embodiment.) Theuser defines a chemical structure 8905 in the chemical search engine8904. The chemical search engine 8904 then searches for chemicals thatare related to the chemical structure 8905. A variety of chemical searchengines are publicly available and operable with the invention, such asCAS SciFinder.

The results of the search are stored via a save dialog 8906. In theexample of FIG. 89, the search results are saved in file “test.csv.” Thesearch results comprise one or more chemicals that were found during thesearch. Generally, each chemical represents a data object.

In IPAM 8902, the user imports the file “test.csv,” as indicated byarrow 8908. The contents of “test.csv” (i.e., the chemicals locatedduring the search) are stored in a group 8910.

An example use scenario is as follows.

A user working in IPAM 8902 is studying a group comprising a multitudeof chemical compounds (each compound may be represented by a corporatedocument, for example). The user wishes to identify chemical compoundsin this group that have a particular sub-structure.

The user instructs IPAM 8902 to invoke the chemical search engine 8904,and export the group to the chemical search engine 8904. Accordingly,the plug-in manager interacts with the plug-in for the chemical searchengine 8904 to (1) invoke the chemical search engine 8904, and (2)export the group to the chemical search engine 8904. The plug-ininteracts with the chemical search engine 8904 using the API of thechemical search engine 8904. The plug-in performs any necessarydata/format translations to export the group to the chemical searchengine 8904.

The user interacts with the chemical search engine 8904 to conduct asearch for compounds related to a particular structure 8905, asdescribed above. This search is limited to the compounds in the groupthat was exported to the chemical search engine 8904.

After completion of the search, the plug-in associated with the chemicalsearch engine 8904 accesses the search results (possibly from file“test.csv”) and imports the search results to IPAM 8902 via the plug-inmanager. In doing so, the plug-in performs any needed data/formattranslations consistent with the API of the plug-in manager.

IPAM 8902, upon receiving the search results, may create a new sub-groupof the original group, and store the search results in the newsub-group. Other processing by IPAM 8902 is possible, as will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on theteachings contained herein.

Other

Additional third party components applicable for use with the enterpriseserver 7604 include, but are not limited to, CRYSTAL REPORTS fromSEAGATE, EXCEL from MICROSOFT, TABLE LENS from INXIGHT, and PERSPECTAfrom PERSPECTA, INC.

Hybrid Models

The invention supports a variety of configurations of its components.Additionally, the invention supports a variety of functionalconfigurations and distributions.

For example, FIG. 69 illustrates a configuration where all primarycomponents and functions are positioned at a single location 6904.

FIG. 70 illustrates a configuration where components and functionalityare distributed among a first location 7002 and a second location 7004.The enterprise server 7604, the client 7606, 7608, and the IPAMdatabases 7614, and functions performed by these components, arepositioned at the first location 7002. The search engines and indexes6902, and the functions performed by the search engines and indexes6902, are positioned at a second location 7004. To perform a searchspecified by the user, the enterprise server 7604 accesses the remotesearch engines and indexes 6902 at the second location 7004. It is notedthat such search engines and indexes 6902 may include third partycomponents, such as LEXIS-NEXIS, Westlaw, Dialog, Derwent, etc., asdescribed above.

FIG. 71 illustrates a configuration where components and functionalityare distributed among a first location 7102, a second location 7104, anda third location 7106.

FIG. 72 illustrates a configuration where components and functionalityare distributed among a first location 7202, a second location 7204, athird location 7206, and a fourth location 7208.

As indicated by the example configurations illustrated in FIGS. 69-72,the present invention includes a variety of configurations anddistributions of its components and functionality. The examples of FIG.69-72 are presented for purposes of example only and are not limiting.Other configurations of components and functionality will be apparent topersons skilled in the relevant arts based on the discussion containedherein.

For example, a given component and/or functionality can be distributedamong multiple locations. This is illustrated in FIG. 73, where theenterprise server 7604 is distributed among a first location 7302 and asecond location 7304. Additionally, databases 7206 are distributed amonglocation 7306 and 7308. Also, search engines and indexes 6902 aredistributed among locations 7310 and 7312. Third party components/tools(described above) may also be local or distributed.

It is noted that the locations described in FIGS. 69-73 may be owned byand/or under the control of a single corporate entity, or owned and/orunder the control of multiple corporate entities. Also, the locationsdepicted in FIGS. 69-73 may be local to one another, or may be veryremote from one another, or may be combinations thereof

The invention supports a number of economic models for using the system.For example, the system supports a pay-for-use service, where usage ofthe system is metered and billed accordingly. The invention alsoincludes other economic models, such as but not limited to an unlimitedservice plan, where for a given fee the user can download any number ofdocuments and have unlimited use of the system, and a hybrid plan wherefor a fee the user can download a given number of documents and use thesystem for a given amount of time or transactions (or some othermetric). Once these limits are exceeded, the user pays on a per-userate.

The invention also supports a model whereby meta-data version (v1) canbe distributed to the client at time (t1). Later, an updated version ofthe meta-data (v2) can be distributed at time (t2). This is extremelyvaluable because certain aspects of the meta-data associated with apatent are mutable (e.g., assignee and U.S. classification). Byproviding these version numbers in the database, the host system canautomatically provide meta-data updates to the remote system. Chargesfor these updates can be included within the user's existing economicmodel (above), or via a separate economic model.

The invention also supports electronic ordering of data objects (such aspatents), and automatic downloading and installing of such data objects.In this embodiment, a user can electronically place an order for dataobjects, such as but not limited to via modem or over the Internet. Anautomated process takes the order, performs any necessary financialaccounting and billing, retrieves the requested data items from adatabase, and downloads the retrieved data items/objects to therequestor via the Internet, for example. At the user computer, thereceived data objects are automatically decrypted (if necessary),unpacked (if necessary), unzipped (if necessary), installed in theproper directories, noted in the computer registry, and/or other tasksto automatically install the received data objects for use at the usersite.

Assignee Processing

The invention supports processing related to corporate entities. Forexample, the invention includes functionality to identify and processpatents assigned to a particular corporate entity.

To achieve effective corporate entity related processing, it isimportant that references to a given corporate entity in a data set beconsistent throughout the data set. For example, if the user wishes toidentify all patents assigned to Aurigin, Inc., then it is importantthat all references to Aurigin in the database utilize the same name,such as “Aurigin, Inc.”. Processing conducted by the invention will notbe as effective if different representations are used to represent agiven corporate entity, such as “Origin” and “Aurigin, Incorporated” torepresent Aurigin.

As noted above, the invention preferably receives patent data (hereincalled “raw data”) from national patent offices. Such patent data oftenincludes different representations of a given corporate entity.Accordingly, corporate entity related processing over such data is notentirely effective.

The invention solves this problem by processing assignee data containedin patent raw data. Such processing, called assignee name processing, isdepicted in a flowchart 7402 of FIG. 74.

In step 7406, a normalized assignee name is selected for an entity. Forexample, the name “Aurigin” may be selected as a normalized assigneename for the corporate entity “Aurigin, Inc.”.

In step 7408, the patent raw data is analyzed to identify all namerepresentations for the corporate entity being considered. For example,in reviewing the data set, the following representations for Aurigin,Inc. may be identified:

Aurigin

Origin

Aurigin, Inc.

Aurigin, Incorporated

Origin, Inc.

Origin, Incorporated

Step 7408 may be performed manually, automatically, or a combinationthereof A variety of factors are considered to determine whether or nottwo representations refer to the same company or two independent andunrelated companies, such as but not limited to company name, companyaddress, etc.

In step 7410, the normalized assignee name selected in step 7406 islinked to the name representations identified in step 7408.

Preferably, step 7410 is performed by replacing instances of the namerepresentations appearing in database tables with the normalizedassignee name. Preferably, the patent raw data is not modified.

The processing depicted in FIG. 74 is not limited to assignee nameprocessing, but is instead applicable whenever there is a need thatrepresentations of a given object be consistent throughout a data set.For example, with regard to patents, for example, the processing of FIG.74 can be applied to inventor names, law firms, patent examiners,classes and subclasses (that change over time), any other bibliographicdata, etc.

Input of Arbitrary and Potentially Diverse Data Objects

The present invention enables the automatic or semi-automatic input intothe system of data objects of any format and/or content. Such dataobjects are stored in databases of the system. The invention allows thedisplay and annotation of the data objects. The data objects can also besearched. The invention supports other processing of the data objects,as described herein, and as also described in “System, Method, andComputer Program Product for Managing and Analyzing IntellectualProperty (IP) Related Transactions,” Ser. No. 09/138,368, filed Aug. 21,1998; “Using Hyperbolic Trees to Visualize Data. Generated ByPatent-Centric and Group-Oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No. 08/921,369,filed Aug. 29, 1997; and “System, Method, and Computer Program Productfor Patent-Centric and Group-Oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No.08/867,392, filed Jun. 2, 1997, all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

In embodiments of the invention, information is extracted from the dataobjects. The extracted information is also stored. Preferably, theextracted information is stored in relational databases, data miningdatabases, or other types of databases. This is similar to storingbibliographic and other information from patents in relationaldatabases, as described above, and as further described in U.S. PatentApplication “System, Method and Computer Program Product forPatent-Centric and Group-Oriented Data Processing,” Ser. No. 08/867,392,filed Jun. 2, 1997, which is herein incorporated by reference in itsentirety. The extracted data that is stored in the relational or otherdatabases can be used for sophisticated data mining and other processingrelated to the underlining data objects, as described herein.

Preferably, the format of data objects that are input into the system isat least partially regular and consistent. By this, it is meant that fora given data object type, a given piece of information (such as thedocument title) is always located at substantially the same position indata objects of the data object type. The invention makes use of theregular and consistent arrangement of data in data objects to extractdata from the data objects. The extracted data is stored in relationaldatabases, data mining databases, or other types of databases.

This operation of the invention is represented by a flow chart 8402 inFIG. 84. It is noted that the steps of flowchart 8402 are performed fora particular data object type, which shall herein be referred to as the“current data object type” for reference purposes.

In step 8404, the current data object type is analyzed to identifyinformation of interest 8506 contained in data objects of the currentdata object type. The identified information of interest 8506 representsinformation that it is be extracted from data objects of the currentdata object. For example, if the current data object type is U.S.patents, then the information of interest 8506 identified in step 8404may include the patent number, the inventors, the assignee, the citedreferences, the number of claims, the number of figures, etc.

The information of interest 8506 of the current data object type can beidentified in step 8404 by a review of an example data object 8502 ofthe current data object type (see FIG. 85). Alternatively, theinformation of interest 8506 can be identified in step 8404 by othermeans. For example, a data object standard 8504 thatcharacterizes/defines/describes the current data object type, and thatspecifies the data content and the locations of the data content in dataobjects of the current data object type, can be reviewed to identify theinformation of interest in step 8404.

In step 8406, the system identifies where the information of interest8506 (identified in step 8404) is located in data objects of the currentdata object type. Again, step 8406 can be performed by a review of anexample data object 8502 of the current data object, or by review of adata object standard 8504 that characterizes the current data objecttype.

In step 8408, one or more new database tables are created, if necessary,to store the data that it to be extracted from data objects of thecurrent data object type. It is noted that step 8408 is optional, inthat database tables for storing the extracted information may alreadyexist.

In step 8410, one or more database tables 8510 (one or more of which mayhave been created in 8408) are selected. The selected database tables8510 will store the information extracted from data objects of thecurrent data object type. The database tables 8510 selected in step 8410are represented, for example, as relational database tables 8510 in FIG.85.

In step 8412, the columns (fields) in the selected database tables 8510where the information extracted from the data objects of the currentdata object type is to be stored are selected. This is represented inFIG. 85, for example, where it is specified that data in location 8508Ais stored in column 8512 of relational database 8510. Similarly, data inlocations 8508B, 8508C and 8508D of the data objects of the current dataobject type are stored in columns 8514, 8516 and 8518, respectively, ofthe relational database tables 8510.

After completion of step 8412, the system is prepared to receive andextract data from data objects of the current data object type.Accordingly, in step 8414, a data object of the current data object typeis received.

In step 8416, the system determines the type of the received dataobject. In particular, the system in step 8416 determines that thereceived data object is of the current data object type. The system candetermine the type by reviewing information that accompanied the dataobject when it was received in step 8414. In particular, in step 8414,an indication of the type of the data object may also have been providedto the system. Alternatively, the system can analyze the received dataobject to determine its type.

In step 8418, the system extracts information from the received dataobject in accordance with the data object's type. Preferably, thisextraction operation does not change or otherwise affect the receiveddata object. The system knows where to extract information of interest8506 by reference to the locations 8508 identified in step 8406.

In step 8420, the system stores the extracted information in columns ofthe database tables 8510 associated with the current database type, asdetermined in steps 8410 and 8412.

In step 8422, the system stores the data object itself

Tool Box Embodiments

A variety of widgets (components) of the invention are described herein.The invention is directed to tool box embodiments where any number ofthese widgets are packaged as separately accessible components that canbe added to other applications, or used to customize the systemdescribed herein. For example, and without limitation, an extension ofthe user interface includes the ability to “mix and match” specificwidgets or components associated with the user interface. Consider FIGS.16 and 75, and the “kind pane” (7504). These could be packaged asseparately accessible components of the API and made available as a“toolkit”. The same is true with all other components of the invention.Users could build their own user interface or other applications—perhapsby embedding the context browser into other applications, such as aspreadsheet in Microsoft Excel.

Example Implementation

In an embodiment of the present invention, the system and components ofthe present invention described herein are implemented using well knowncomputers, such as a computer 8602 shown in FIG. 86. The computer 8602can be any commercially available and well known computer capable ofperforming the functions described herein, such as computers availablefrom International Business Machines, Apple, Silicon Graphics Inc., Sun,HP, Dell, Compaq, Digital, Cray, etc.

The computer 8602 includes one or more processors (also called centralprocessing units, or CPUs), such as a processor 8606. The processor 8606is connected to a communication bus 8604. The computer 8602 alsoincludes a main or primary memory 8608, preferably random access memory(RAM). The primary memory 8608 has stored therein control logic(computer software), and data.

The computer 8602 also includes one or more secondary storage devices8610. The secondary storage devices 8610 include, for example, a harddisk drive 8612 and/or a removable storage device or drive 8614. Theremovable storage drive 8614 represents a floppy disk drive, a magnetictape drive, a compact disk drive, an optical storage device, tapebackup, ZIP drive, JAZZ drive, etc.

The removable storage drive 8614 interacts with a removable storage unit8616. As will be appreciated, the removable storage unit 8616 includes acomputer usable or readable storage medium having stored thereincomputer software (control logic) and/or data. The removable storagedrive 8614 reads from and/or writes to the removable storage unit 8616in a well known manner.

Removable storage unit 8616, also called a program storage device or acomputer program product, represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape,compact disk, optical storage disk, ZIP disk, JAZZ disk/tape, or anyother computer data storage device. Program storage devices or computerprogram products also include any device in which computer programs canbe stored, such as hard drives, ROM or memory cards, etc.

In an embodiment, the present invention is directed to computer programproducts or program storage devices having software that enables thecomputer 8602 to perform any combination of the functions describedherein.

Computer programs (also called computer control logic) are stored inmain memory 8608 and/or the secondary storage devices 8610. Suchcomputer programs, when executed, enable the computer 8602 to performthe functions of the present invention as discussed herein. Inparticular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor8606 to perform the functions of the present invention. Accordingly,such computer programs represent controllers of the computer 8602.

The computer 8602 also input/output/display devices 8622, such asmonitors, keyboards, pointing devices, etc.

The computer 8602 further includes a communication or network interface8618. The network interface 8618 enables the computer 8602 tocommunicate with remote devices. For example, the network interface 8618allows the computer 8602 to communicate over communication networks,such as LANs, WANs, the Internet, etc. The network interface 8618 mayinterface with remote sites or networks via wired or wirelessconnections. The computer 8602 receives data and/or computer programs8620 via the network interface 8618. The electrical/magnetic signalshaving contained therein data and/or computer programs 8620 received ortransmitted by the computer 8602 via interface 8618 also representcomputer program product(s).

The invention can work with software, hardware, and operating systemimplementations other than those described herein. Any software,hardware, and operating system implementations suitable for performingthe functions described herein can be used.

Conclusion

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of thepresent invention should not be limited by any of the above-describedexemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with thefollowing claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method of enabling review of patents in a group of patents, comprising: generating a group of patents comprising a plurality of electronic patent documents; displaying a list of patents in said group of patents; searching a local database to determine whether requested information for a patent from the list of patents is locally available, the requested information comprising image data representative of at least a portion of the patent; previewing a subset of the requested information from another database in response to the requested information being unavailable locally; requesting the requested information from the another database in response to the previewing; displaying the image data representative of at least a portion of the patent; in response to a received command to view a next patent from the list of patents, retrieving and displaying at least image data representative of at least a portion of the next patent; in response to a received command to perform a patent citation function with respect to a selected patent in the group, linking patents and patent related documents that: are cited by the selected patent; and/or cite the selected patent; in response to a received command, creating a new temporary group as a subset of the plurality of electronic patent documents; and in response to a received command, converting the new temporary group to a permanent group.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the previewing further comprises: retrieving and displaying the subset of the requested information from a remote database.
 3. A method of enabling review of patent-related data objects comprising: aggregating a set of patent-related data objects; displaying a list of patent-related data objects in the aggregated set; searching a local database to determine whether requested information for a patent-related data object from the list is locally available, the requested information comprising at least image data representing at least a portion of a patent-related data object; previewing a subset of the requested information from another database in response to the requested information being unavailable locally; requesting the requested information from the another database in response to the previewing; displaying image data representing at least a portion of the patent-related data object from the aggregated set; in response to commands received from a set of navigation tools, providing access to respective patent-related data objects within the aggregated set; in response to a received command to perform a patent citation function with respect to a selected patent-related data object from the aggregated set, linking patents and patent related documents that: are cited by the selected patent-related data object; and/or cite the selected patent-related data object; in response to commands received from a set of classification tools, creating new temporary groups from subsets of the aggregated set; and in response to a command, converting one or more of the new temporary groups to a permanent group.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the previewing further comprises: retrieving and displaying the subset of the patent-related data object from a remote database.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: generating a data object family tree comprising a plurality of patent-related data objects and indicative of relationships between the patent-related data objects; and displaying the data object family tree.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the displaying the data object family tree comprises displaying the data object family tree as a hyperbolic tree.
 7. The method according to claim 3, wherein the method is computer implemented, and patent-related data objects comprise patents, and the aggregated set comprises a group of patents, wherein the aggregating causes generation of a group of patents comprising a plurality of electronic patent documents; the displaying a list of data objects displays a list of patents in the group of patents; and the responding to a set of set navigation tools comprises in response to a received command to view a next patent retrieving and displaying at least image data representative of at least a portion of the next patent.
 8. The method of claim 3, further comprising performing patent-centric processing of the patent-related data objects.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the patent-centric processing comprises generating: a backward patent citation tree comprising patents and non-patent data objects that are cited by a base patent; and a forward patent citation tree comprising patents and non-patent data objects that cite a base patent.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising visualizing the patent citation tree as a hyperbolic tree.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein individual nodes of the hyperbolic tree comprise state information including display attribute information.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein patent-centric processing comprises generating a patent claim tree comprising nodes corresponding to claims in one of the patents, and links between the nodes indicative of dependencies among the claims.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising displaying at least a portion of a claim corresponding to one of the nodes when a selection device is positioned proximate to the one of the nodes.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the patent-centric processing comprises generating a patent citation tree comprising patents and non-patent data objects that (i) are cited by a base patent, and/or (ii) cite a base patent.
 15. The method of claim 3, further comprising generating at least one annotation and associating the annotation with a respective patent-related data object.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the generating an annotation is linked to a portion of at least one of the patent-related data objects.
 17. The method of claim 3, wherein a patent-related data object comprises image data, further comprising generating at least one annotation and associating the annotation with image data of a respective patent-related data object.
 18. The method of claim 3, further comprising determining an authorization of a user prior to displaying patent-related data objects thereto.
 19. The method of claim 3, further comprising graphing information relating to at least one patent-related data object.
 20. The method of claim 3, further comprising displaying a map of information relating to at least one patent-related data object.
 21. The method of claim 3, further comprising providing a plug-in manager having an application programming interface (API) for permitting external applications to operate on patent-related data objects.
 22. The method of claim 3, further comprising providing at least two distinct application programming interfaces (APIs) for permitting applications to operate on patent-related data objects.
 23. The method of claim 3, further comprising: providing a plug-in manager for permitting plug-in applications to access patent-related data objects; translating messages from the plug-in manager to the plug-in applications to a format conforming to a first application programming interface (API); and translating messages from the plug-in applications to the plug-in manager to a format conforming to a second application programming interface (API).
 24. The method of claim 3, wherein patent-related data objects comprise patent-related information, further comprising: accessing databases of patent and patent bibliographic information; accessing one or more contexts, each of the one or more contexts or groups comprising any number of patents represented in the databases; and automatically performing patent centric and context oriented processing of at least some of the patents in at least one of the one or more contexts or groups.
 25. The method of claim 24, further comprising annotating a patent represented in the databases.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the annotating comprises annotating the patent using an annotation form.
 27. The method of claim 3, further comprising: automatically processing at least one of the patent-related data objects; in response to a received command, creating a new temporary group as a subset of the aggregated set; and in response to a received command, converting the new temporary group to a permanent group.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein at least one of the patent-related data objects is related to one or more of patents, contracts, licenses, leases, notes, commercial papers, legal papers and financial papers.
 29. The method of claim 3, further comprising: maintaining a group of a permanent type, wherein the permanent type can be either system defined or user defined, wherein the group of permanent type is comprised of any number of patent-related data objects; generating a group of a temporary type during processing of a command by automatically processing one or more of the patent-related data objects in the group of permanent type in conjunction with information from at least one database; and allowing conversion of the group of temporary type to a group of permanent type.
 30. A system for enabling review of patent-related data objects comprising: a memory configured to store: a set of aggregated patent-related data objects; a search module configured to search a local database to determine whether requested information for a patent-related data object in a list of data objects in the aggregated set is locally available; a display module configured to present the list of data objects, preview a subset of the requested information from another database in response to the requested information being unavailable locally, and request the requested information from the another database in response to the preview, the display module displaying the image data representative of at least a portion of the patent-related data object; a navigation tool module comprising a set of navigation tools to provide user access to respective patent-related data objects within the aggregated set; a linking module configured, in response to a received command to perform a patent citation function with respect to a selected patent-related data object from the aggregated set, to link patents and patent related documents that: are cited by the selected patent-related data object; and/or cite the selected patent-related data object; a group creation module configured, in response to commands received from a set of classification tools, to create new temporary groups from subsets of the aggregated set; and a conversion module configured, in response to a command, to convert one or more of the new temporary groups to a permanent group; and a processor configured to process the modules.
 31. The system of claim 30, wherein the search module is further configured to retrieve and display the subset of the patent-related data object from a remote database.
 32. The system according to claim 30, wherein the system comprises a computer, and wherein: the set of patent-related data objects comprises the group of patents comprising a plurality of electronic patent documents; and the display displays image data representative of at least a portion of a patent from the group of patents.
 33. The system according to claim 32, wherein the set of navigation tools comprises a command to view a previous patent, retrieval and display of at least image data representative of at least a portion of the previous patent.
 34. A method of context data processing, comprising: accessing databases of patents and patent bibliographic information; accessing one or more contexts, each of the one or more contexts comprising any number of patents represented in the databases; searching a local database from among the databases to determine whether requested information for a patent from the number of patents is locally available, the requested information comprising image data representative of at least a portion of the patent; previewing a subset of the requested information from another database in response to the requested information being unavailable locally; requesting the requested information from the another database in response to the preview; displaying the image data representative of at least a portion of the patent; automatically performing patent centric and context oriented processing of at least some of the patents in at least one of the one or more contexts, wherein the patent centric processing comprises performing a patent citation function with respect to one or more selected patents from the databases of patents by linking patents and patent related documents that: are cited by the one or more selected patents; and/or cite the one or more selected patents; in response to a command, creating a new temporary group as a subset of the one or more contexts; and in response to a command, converting the new temporary group to a permanent group.
 35. The method of claim 34, further comprising: annotating a patent represented in the databases.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the annotating comprises: annotating the patent using an annotation form.
 37. The method of claim 34, wherein the patent centric and context oriented processing comprises: generating and displaying data object families.
 38. A system for processing data, comprising: an intellectual property asset manager (IPAM); a plug-in manager coupled to the IPAM; at least one plug-in coupled to the plug-in manager; a module operable to access, using the IPAM, a local database of electronic patent documents; a module operable to search the local database to determine whether requested information for a patent from the local database is locally available, the requested information comprising image data representative of at least a portion of the patent; a module operable to preview a subset of the requested information from another database in response to the requested information being unavailable locally; a module operable to request the requested information from the other database in response to the preview; a module operable to display the image data representative of at least a portion of the patent; a module operable to perform, using the IPAM, in response to a received command, a patent citation function with respect to a selected electronic patent document from the local database of electronic patent documents by linking patents and patent related documents that: are cited by the selected electronic patent document; and/or cite the selected electronic patent document; a module operable to create, in response to a received command, a new temporary group comprising one or more electronic patent documents represented in the database; and a module operable to convert, in response to a received command, the new temporary group to a permanent group; and a processor configured to process the modules.
 39. The system of claim 38, further comprising: at least one external data processing component coupled to the plug-in.
 40. The system of claim 39, wherein the external data processing component displays data using at least graphs, and wherein the graphs include at least a patent citation tree.
 41. The system of claim 39, wherein the external data processing component displays data using at least maps, and wherein the maps include at least a patent citation map.
 42. The system of claim 39, wherein the plug-in manager has a first application programming interface (API), and the external data processing component has a second API.
 43. The system of claim 42, wherein the plug-in is configured to: translate messages from the plug-in manager to the external data processing component to a format conforming to the second API; and translate messages from the external data processing component to the plug-in manager to a format conforming to the first API.
 44. A method of processing data, comprising: accessing at least one local database of information representative of patents and patent-related documents; accessing one or more groups, each of the one or more groups comprising any number of the documents represented in the at least one local database; searching the at least one local database to determine whether requested information for a document from the documents is locally available, the requested information comprising image data representative of at least a portion of the document; previewing the requested information when the requested information is not locally available; requesting the requested information from another database in response to the previewing; displaying the image data representative of at least a portion of the document; automatically processing at least one of the documents in at least one of the one or more groups, wherein the automatic processing comprises performing a patent citation function with respect to a selected document from one or more groups by linking patents and patent related documents that: are cited by the selected document; and/or cite the selected document; automatically creating a new temporary group during processing of a command; and in response to a received command, converting the new temporary group to a permanent group.
 45. The method of claim 44, wherein at least one of the patent-related documents is related to one or more of contracts, licenses, leases, notes, commercial papers, legal papers and financial papers.
 46. A method of maintaining groups to facilitate in processing and presenting data, comprising: maintaining a group of a permanent type, wherein the permanent type is user defined, wherein the group of permanent type is comprised of any number of patents and patent-related documents from at least one local database; searching the at least one local database to determine whether requested information for a patent from the at least one local database is locally available, the requested information comprising image data representative of at least a portion of the patent; previewing a subset of the requested information in response to the requested information being unavailable locally; requesting the requested information from another database in response to the previewing; displaying the image data representative of at least a portion of the patent; in response to a received command to perform a patent citation function with respect to one or more selected patents from the at least one local database, linking patents and patent related documents that: are cited by the selected one or more patents; and/or cite the selected one or more patents; generating a group of a temporary type during processing of a command by automatically processing one or more of the documents in the group of permanent type in conjunction with information from at least one second database; and allowing a user to convert the group of temporary type to a group of permanent type.
 47. The method of claim 46, wherein one or more of the patent-related documents is related to one or more of contracts, licenses, leases, notes, commercial papers, legal papers and financial papers. 